Duluth Woman Fights Off Attacker Trying to Yank Her From Truck at Stoplight

A 21-year-old woman was sitting at a stoplight at Sixth Avenue West and Superior Street in Duluth on August 21 when a man approached her Toyota Tundra, punched through the driver's-side window, and grabbed her arm in what police say was an attempted carjacking. The woman fought back, striking the man before speeding away and calling 911 from a safe location, according to the criminal complaint.

Duluth police identified the suspect as 32-year-old Dominick Richard Crumley and, using surveillance footage, located him about 20 minutes later, as reported by the Duluth News Tribune. Crumley had glass fragments stuck in his arm from the shattered window, and officers reportedly found two knives, a right-handed glove reinforced with plastic knuckles, and a small plastic bag containing 5.7 grams of a white crystal substance in his pockets. That substance field tested positive for methamphetamine, per the complaint.

According to the criminal complaint, Crumley attempted to unlock the woman's door, ordered her out of the truck, and tried to pull her from the vehicle before she put it in reverse and drove off. She was left with minor swelling on her lip and scratches on her face, the newspaper reports. Crumley now faces charges of attempted first-degree carjacking and fifth-degree drug possession, filed August 24, and remains held in the St. Louis County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 15.

A Supervised Release With Strict Rules

Crumley was on Intensive Supervised Release at the time of the alleged attack, having been granted that status in March 2025 following a 2019 conviction for first-degree assault. Court records show he was sentenced to 98 months in prison, minus time served, for stabbing a man at least four times in 2018 at the Tri-Towers Apartments on North Second Avenue East in Duluth — an attack that left the victim needing emergency surgery to repair a damaged lung, according to the Duluth News Tribune's reporting.

Minnesota's Intensive Supervised Release program, reserved for high-risk offenders leaving state correctional facilities, mandates four face-to-face contacts per week, electronic home monitoring, daily curfews, random drug testing, mandatory restitution, and at least 40 hours weekly of approved work, school, or rehabilitation, per the Minnesota Department of Corrections. His full sentence expiration date is listed as January 10, 2027, meaning his supervised release was set to end in January 2027. Beyond the stabbing case, Crumley has prior convictions dating back to 2016 that include theft, shoplifting, trespassing, two counts of fifth-degree assault, and two convictions for fighting or brawling, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

New Law Raises the Stakes for Carjacking Charges

Minnesota only created a standalone carjacking statute in August 2023; before that, prosecutors charged similar conduct under general robbery laws. Under Minn. Stat. § 609.247, first-degree carjacking — taking a vehicle by force or threat while armed with a dangerous weapon or causing bodily harm — now carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. The Duluth News Tribune reports the maximum fine associated with the charge at $30,000.

The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission voted 7-2 in July 2023 to classify first-degree carjacking as a severity level nine offense, putting it on par sentencing-wise with third-degree murder and first-degree assault, as reported by MPR News. Prosecutors across the state moved quickly to use the new law rather than fall back on aggravated robbery charges once it took effect, according to FOX 9.

Carjackings Climbing Even as Auto Theft Falls

The case lands amid a statewide uptick in carjacking incidents. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reported in its 2024 Uniform Crime Report that carjackings rose 5.5% statewide to 426 cases even as overall motor vehicle thefts fell 19.3%, dropping to 12,596 cases. A 2021 study by Minnesota Department of Corrections researchers, published in Crime & Delinquency and summarized by the London School of Economics, found that Intensive Supervised Release significantly reduced violent and felony reoffending among high-risk individuals, though closer monitoring also drove up technical violation revocations.

Duluth police responded to 83,555 calls for service in 2024, including 870 crimes against persons, according to the department's annual report. The incident is the latest in a string of violent confrontations Hoodline has tracked in Duluth this month, though no connection between the cases has been reported.