Violent Incident at St. Marys ER Results in Felony Conviction

Rochester, MN ( KROC-AM News ) - A Plainview woman has entered a guilty plea to a felony charge stemming from a violent incident at St. Marys Hospital in March.

According to the criminal complaint filed against , Rochester police responded to the emergency department at the hospital on March 12 after receiving a report of an assault with a knife. The court document says the officers arrived at the scene and spoke with a security guard, who stated that he was posted at an entrance when a woman, who was later identified as Pries, allegedly put a knife to her throat and "began yelling statements of self-harm and harm to others present."

The charges say the guard reacted by rushing the woman from behind in an attempt to subdue and disarm her, but ended up with a knife wound on his hand when she actively resisted his actions. The criminal complaint also indicates the security guard was bitten by Pries, who was eventually restrained and disarmed by multiple hospital staff members.

Rochester police reported the incident prompted a temporary lockdown of the St. Marys Hospital Emergency Department.

Pries was charged with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, along with two counts of misdemeanor fifth-degree assault.

Under the terms of a plea agreement filed in Olmsted County Court this week, the criminal complaint in the case was amended to include a felony count of threats of violence. Pries admitted to that charge in exchange for the dismissal of the felony assault charge and the misdemeanor offenses.

She is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

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