Chavez charged with felony assault

Dominique Chavez, 28, Little Falls, was charged in Morrison County District Court with one felony count of assault.

The charge stems from an April 15 incident, when the Little Falls Police Department received a report of a disturbance occurring at a residence on Third Avenue Northwest in Little Falls. Two officers responded to the report and met with the victim. The first officer spoke to the victim while the second officer went into the residence to speak with Chavez. The victim stated that Chavez was huffing from cans of spray cleaner and was becoming impaired. The victim stated that Chavez “got weird” and turned on his torch lighter and tried to burn her with it. The victim stated that she was scared, and she pulled a blanket up over herself as he tried to burn her with the torch lighter. The victim stated that she believes Chavez would have burned her with the torch because he was burning the blanket, according to the report.

While the first officer was speaking with the victim, the second officer went in the house and made contact with Chavez. Chavez allegedly picked up a large 12-inch knife from the kitchen table and put it to his neck saying he had nothing to live for. Chavez kept threatening to kill himself, per the report. The officer backed out of the residence and tried to deescalate the situation by talking to Chavez through a screen door. He convinced Chavez to step outside. A Morrison County deputy approached the residence and Chavez turned to face the deputy. At that point, the officer deployed his taser. Chavez fell to the ground on a grassy surface. While the taser was still active, the officer rushed to Chavez to gain control of the knife and keep him pinned to the ground. Chavez was then placed under arrest.

According to the report, Chavez was transported to the Morrison County Jail where he was booked in for assault. Chavez allegedly agreed to give a statement pursuant to Miranda. Chavez said that he kept putting a torch close to the victim and then pulling it away from her. Chavez appeared to indicate that he did this multiple times.

An examination of Chavez’s criminal history shows that he has multiple assault-related convictions in the state of Texas. In April 2017, he was convicted of felony-level assault on a public servant. On Dec. 13, 2022, he was convicted of terroristic threat causing fear of imminent harm. On Nov. 16, 2022, he was convicted of assault. In March 2019, he was convicted of assault causing bodily injury. The prior out-of-state convictions enhance the current offense to a felony.

If convicted on the felony charge, Chavez faces up to five years imprisonment and/or a $10,000 fine.