Public safety briefs: 1 dead, 1 arrested in stabbing at Bailey Nurseries in Newport

An employee at Bailey Nurseries was stabbed to death Thursday afternoon at the company's Newport location and a man turned himself in to police a couple of hours after the slaying, authorities said.

Newport Police Chief Curt Montgomery said police were called to the nursery at 3:39 p.m. regarding the stabbing. Thursday evening, the Washington County Sheriff's Office sent out a statement saying the victim had died and a suspect was in custody.

The suspect and two of his relatives went to the parking lot of the St. Paul Police Department, 367 Grove St., shortly before 6 p.m., police said. A person with the man went into police headquarters and told a desk officer that a man involved in the violence was outside, and officers went out to talk to him, police said late Thursday.

The suspect was turned over to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, which sent deputies to pick him up.

The man was treated at Regions Hospital for unknown injuries and then was taken to the Washington County jail. His name and the victim's were not released.

The company, a family-owned nursery with its main offices and growing fields in Newport, issued a one-paragraph statement Thursday: "Our deepest sympathies and condolences are extended to the family and friends of our fellow employee," it said in part.

The case was turned over to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Thursday night.

The woman who was struck by a commercial truck near Lake Calhoun was identified Thursday by police as Caitlan C. Barton, 25, of Savage.

Barton was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center on Wednesday and remained in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said Thursday.

The driver of the box truck had been heading south on Market Plaza shortly after 6:15 p.m. out of a shopping center, police said. When the driver turned right onto W. Lake Street, the side of the truck struck Barton, police spokesman John Elder said.

Barton, who had the green light for pedestrians' right of way, was dragged about a quarter of a block, Elder said.

Paul Walsh

The men, ages 31 and 40, are being held in the Sherburne County jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary, second-degree assault and "possibly" aggravated robbery, Elk River police Capt. Bob Kluntz said.

The pair broke into a house in the 18500 block of Quincy Court shortly after 9 a.m., according to Kluntz. They beat a man inside with a blunt object but didn't hurt the man's wife or 2-year-old child, who was asleep, according to Kluntz.

The victim was listed in stable condition Thursday night at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Kluntz said.