A Stearns County jury is hearing the case of a St. Cloud man accused of stabbing a police officer during a domestic call last spring, a confrontation that ended with gunfire and a foot chase through a north-side neighborhood.
Kyeon Hill, 47, is on trial this week in Stearns County District Court. He is charged with first-degree assault for allegedly using deadly force against a peace officer, along with a misdemeanor count of domestic assault. The trial is expected to run five days, with jurors revisiting the tense scene from May 2025.
Trial and charges
According to WJON, prosecutors have charged Hill with felony first-degree assault under Minnesota law that applies when someone is accused of using or attempting to use deadly force against a peace officer. He also faces a misdemeanor domestic-assault charge tied to the original 911 call. The current schedule sets aside a full week for testimony, evidence and jury deliberation.
How the May confrontation unfolded
Court records state that officers were dispatched shortly before 4 p.m. on May 9 to the 600 block of Eighth Avenue North, after a woman dialed 911 and reported that a past acquaintance had threatened her. Responding officers found Hill sitting in a vehicle and ordered him to put down a knife.
Prosecutors say Hill got out of the car and stabbed Officer Virgilia Schreiner in the upper arm, leaving a puncture wound. Schreiner then fired a single shot that hit Hill in the shoulder, and another officer deployed a Taser during a brief foot pursuit that ended with Hill’s arrest, as reported by KSTP.
BCA review and evidence
Investigators with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension recovered a pocket knife at the scene and have been reviewing body-camera video from the officers involved, according to local reports. The BCA’s findings are set to be presented to the Stearns County Attorney’s Office and, by procedure, do not themselves count as a charging recommendation, per an earlier Hoodline report on the ongoing investigation into use of force.
Legal stakes
Under Minnesota law, first-degree assault for using or attempting to use deadly force against a peace officer is a felony that can carry a prison sentence measured in years, while the domestic-assault charge carries a lower potential penalty. Any sentence would depend on what jurors conclude about Hill’s intent, the extent of the injuries and the rest of the evidence. The statutory language is laid out in Minnesota Statutes.
What to watch at trial
Prosecutors are expected to lean heavily on the BCA’s work and the officers’ body-camera footage, and potential witnesses include the 911 caller, emergency responders and the two officers on scene. Hill’s case file and booking information remain publicly available on the county roster, as shown in the Stearns County jail roster, and the trial schedule was set this week, WJON reports.
With an officer injured, gunfire exchanged and a domestic call at the center of it all, the proceedings are drawing close attention in St. Cloud as the community watches how a routine welfare check turned into a case with high legal and emotional stakes.
