A 35-year-old Duluth man is facing felony and misdemeanor charges after a criminal complaint alleged that he threatened to shoot a man and punched him during a predawn confrontation downtown. Kevin Otis Hotchkiss faces charges of threats of violence and fifth-degree assault stemming from the encounter, which occurred around 3:00 a.m. on September 6 in the 200 block of West 1st Street.
The criminal complaint says the encounter began after two women and a man in a vehicle offered a victim and his friend a ride to the Radisson Hotel in exchange for money. The pair declined and walked away, according to MN Crime. The complaint alleges Hotchkiss then threatened the victim with a gun and said he would shoot him. The Radisson Hotel Duluth Harborview is at 505 West Superior Street, according to Visit Duluth.
The complaint further alleges that Hotchkiss punched the victim in the face, striking the left side of his mouth and leaving him bleeding. Police later stopped the suspect vehicle nearby and found Hotchkiss inside, according to the account. Officers reportedly found a Glock magazine in his pocket and a handgun inside a black purse in the vehicle's back cargo area. Hotchkiss told officers the firearm was in the purse, the account states.
Charges Filed in St. Louis County
The criminal complaint was filed Wednesday in St. Louis County District Court, the article notes. The threats of violence charge accuses Hotchkiss of putting the victim in fear of serious harm, while the fifth-degree assault charge alleges he inflicted or attempted to inflict bodily harm. The St. Louis County Courthouse is in downtown Duluth, according to the Minnesota Judicial Branch.
Under Minnesota Statute § 609.713, threatening a crime of violence with intent to terrorize or in reckless disregard of causing terror is a felony carrying up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. The fifth-degree assault charge, by contrast, is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Minnesota classifies assault by degree under sections 609.221, 609.222, 609.223, 609.2231, and 609.224, with more severe assault charges carrying far steeper exposure — first-degree assault, for instance, carries up to 20 years in prison.
A Familiar Stretch of West 1st Street
The 200 block of West 1st Street sits within a stretch of downtown hospitality and nightlife that includes the Holiday Inn & Suites Duluth-Downtown at 200 West 1st Street, according to Visit Duluth. It's also a stretch that has seen a run of violent incidents this summer. Hoodline previously reported gunfire striking bystanders nearby in early August, when a 42-year-old Chicago man was charged with multiple felonies after allegedly firing shots into a sidewalk near West 1st Street, injuring two people.
Just days later, a 38-year-old man was charged with first-degree assault after a trash-dispute stabbing that ended with police chasing him down West 1st Street on an e-bike, Hoodline reported. And in late August, a 26-year-old woman was charged in St. Louis County District Court after allegedly threatening a downtown boarding home worker with gasoline and fleeing through a nearby alley. The incidents described above involved violent felony or handgun allegations in Duluth.
Duluth Police credited foot patrols and targeted safety initiatives along West 1st Street and North 1st Avenue West with cutting violent crime in that corridor by 53% between late 2022 and late 2023, according to department statements released in June 2025. Even so, the string of incidents this summer — from gunfire to stabbings to gas-can threats — underscores that the downtown strip remains a persistent flashpoint for late-night violence even after those earlier enforcement gains.
Downtown safety measures
The City of Duluth says its downtown response includes increased foot patrols on streets and in the Skywalk system, along with expanded CORE, SURT and CE-POP efforts focused on safety and connecting people with services, according to the City of Duluth.
