A 32-year-old man accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend with a gun at a church homeless shelter in Jordan was charged Tuesday with three felonies.
Johnathan D. Herring already has a criminal record that includes convictions for domestic assault, fleeing police and second-degree burglary. He was charged in Scott County District Court with second-degree assault, domestic assault and terroristic threats.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police that she and Herring had been together on and off since 2010. They have one child together and she is five months pregnant with another. She has two other children from previous relationships.
She said Herring had hurt her several times in the past but they always reconciled. Last February, she said, he choked her. He was arrested and charged, but when she failed to show up in court, the charges were dropped.
She moved into a shelter in August. Last Thursday, she said, Herring showed up at the shelter at Hope Lutheran Church and the two of them started arguing. Police were called and told Herring to stay away from the shelter or he would be arrested.
On Saturday night, Herring broke into the shelter and pointed a gun in the victim's face. The complaint said Herring told the woman he would "blow her … head off," and she was afraid she would be shot. She escaped to a common area where there were other people; then Herring hit her in the face with the gun and fled.
Police said Herring got away in a stolen car. He was caught Sunday at a house in south Minneapolis, where officers found him hiding in a clothes dryer. Investigators later found several text messages on the victim's phone from Herring in which he threatened to kill her.
The complaint said Herring also has a criminal record in Illinois, Mississippi and Tennessee.
