Police: Man Choked, Assaulted Woman in St. Cloud

(KNSI) – A St. Cloud man with a criminal history is accused of strangling a woman after telling him she had a new boyfriend.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Stearns County District Court, on December 26, 2021, police were called about a domestic assault in progress. A woman told police she had been choked and beaten by Jeaun Raymond Hopkins. The woman told police that Hopkins wanted to take their son with him, which led to a physical fight between them. She says the 23-year-old was hitting and pushing her, and she grabbed his hair. She said she let him leave with their son because she did not want the fight to get any worse.

Investigators say that an hour later, Hopkins returned and started to argue again. According to the criminal complaint, the woman told Hopkins that she had a new boyfriend during the argument.

She says Hopkins then “ran up” to her, grabbed her by the neck with both hands, and pushed her up against the wall with her feet off the floor. The woman says she was not able to breathe for about a second. The woman says he then threw her to the floor.

The woman says she told him that she would call the police. Hopkins is accused of repeatedly throwing her phone away from her as she attempted to call 911. When the woman finally reached 911-dispatchers, they could hear Hopkins arguing with the woman in the background. The call ended up being disconnected.

Police say Hopkins fled the home before they got there. He was arrested on Thursday afternoon. Hopkins has been charged with domestic assault by strangulation, domestic assault, interfering with an emergency telephone call, and domestic assault subsequent violation.

Hopkins was on probation after being convicted of aggravated robbery in the 1st degree in 2017. He admitted to being part of a group that would advertise things to sell online and then rob people when they came to buy the items. The crimes were committed in St. Paul. He was given a nearly five-year prison sentence, but the sentence was stayed, meaning he didn’t serve anytime. He was also convicted of assault in 2014.

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