A Thief River Falls man has been charged in Pennington County District Court after he allegedly forced his ex-girlfriend to engage in sexual intercourse while he was armed with a potato peeler.
Kelvin Dariel Herrera-Palma, 24, has been charged with felony offenses of first degree criminal sexual conduct, second degree assault with a dangerous weapon, terroristic threats and first degree aggravated robbery. He was arrested.
At about 9:21 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a multi-family home at 223 Markley Ave. N. after someone had called 911 and hung up. According to the
complaint, a dispatcher reported that a woman could be heard talking in Spanish and then a man came on the line and hung up the phone. A dispatcher was unable to call the number back.
Three police officers responded to one of the apartments, finding a crying woman with a fair amount of blood on her hands. A large pool of blood was observed on a mattress in the living room. Blood droplets were seen throughout the living room and bathroom. Utilizing a Pennington County corrections officer as a translator, the woman said she and Herrera-Palma, who is her ex-boyfriend, argued. He attacked her with a potato peeler, causing a cut on her hand. HerreraPalma also allegedly placed his hands around the woman’s throat and threatened to kill her.
The woman later provided a more detailed statement to police. She said the couple broke up about six months ago, but she still helps him out. She said
they argued a week earlier and he threatened to stab her at that time. He also allegedly locked her in a room and she had to jump out of a window to escape.
On Sunday, HerreraPalma allegedly told the woman to give him about $500 of her $600 in cash since he wanted some cash to buy some cocaine at another apartment in the building. The woman refused since she planned to buy groceries with the money.
Herrera-Palma allegedly struck the woman on the back of the head, causing her to lose consciousness. When the woman regained consciousness, she found
that Herrera-Palma possessed the potato peeler. He sliced the woman’s hand and began ripping her clothes off. Holding the potato peeler to the woman’s neck, he threatened to kill the woman and then forced her to engage in sexual intercourse. While engaged in such activity and threatening to kill the woman, Herrera-Palma called her derogatory names. The woman attempted to run at one point, but he allegedly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. HerreraPalma then stole $500 from the woman to buy cocaine.
Later, while at Sanford Medical Center for a sexual assault examination, the woman allegedly said she had lost consciousness twice during the incident. She first lost consciousness when Herrera-Palma grabbed her hair and she hit her head. She again lost consciousness during the sexual assault and awoke to learn she was wearing different clothes.
Herrera-Palma allegedly said he argued with the woman, who picked up the potato peeler. He said the woman’s hand suffered a cut after he grabbed the woman’s hand and pulled the potato peeler away from her. Herrera-Palma would not elaborate why the two of them were arguing. He said he called 911 and recorded the incident on his phone. Herrera-Palma said the woman was drunk and he didn’t know why she was saying such things to police. He said the two of them love each other. He denied locking her in a room or threatening her. Herrera-Palma said they engaged in consensual intercourse.
Police asked about Herrera-Palma’s cocaine use. He allegedly said he had last used cocaine about a week earlier. Herrera-Palma said he had been drinking
alcohol that evening. The complaint indicated that Herrera-Palma’s pupils were extremely dilated.
