A St. Paul man whose arrest last year was captured on a cellphone camera and posted on YouTube failed to show up for his court hearing Wednesday, where he would have been immediately arrested on two outstanding warrants.
Eric R. Hightower, 31, was scheduled to appear before Ramsey County District Judge Judith Tilsen in the case that led St. Paul police to arrest him last August. Hightower is charged with aggravated stalking, terroristic threats and property damage for allegedly threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.
Tilsen issued a third arrest warrant for Hightower when he failed to show up by noon, three hours after his and other defendants' hearings began. Hightower already had two warrants out for his arrest stemming from a probation violation and charges filed last week when he allegedly violated a domestic abuse no-contact order by contacting the ex-girlfriend in his stalking case.
Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Yasmin Mullings told Tilsen that there is concern Hightower may be attempting to tamper with the witness, his ex-girlfriend.
Mullings had been prepared to negotiate a possible plea agreement with Hightower and his attorney, Seamus Mahoney, on Wednesday.
Mahoney told Tilsen that he was in touch with Hightower throughout the morning, but could not reach him after 11 a.m. Hightower said he was coming in from Minneapolis, Mahoney said.
The arrest warrants caused "anxiety" in Hightower, said Mahoney, who could not address questions after the hearing due to a judge-issued gag order to not publicly speak on the case outside of court.
A five-minute YouTube video posted last year showed Hightower's arrest. He is lying on his side on a sidewalk, propped up on an elbow. Officer Jesse Zilge kicked him once in the chest as bystanders watched.
