A 41-year-old Saint Paul man is facing felony charges after police say he chased down and struck another man with a metal ASP baton outside a Saint Paul home in the early morning hours of September 12, in an attack that investigators say began earlier with a bar fight in Little Canada. Hai Quoc Tran now faces counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and threats of violence.
According to MN CRIME, the trouble started with an earlier altercation between Tran and a coworker at a bar in Little Canada, during which Tran allegedly knocked the coworker to the ground. The victim and his girlfriend later followed the coworker to an address to make sure she made it home safely, the outlet reports. That decision put them in the path of Tran again, this time in Saint Paul.
Police responded to a report of an assault in Saint Paul at about 3:50 a.m. on September 12, per the same account. Officers arrived to find Tran had run out of a house holding the metal ASP or baton and struck the victim multiple times on the chest and extremities. The victim reportedly curled up to protect himself during the attack before others intervened and pulled Tran away, at which point he retreated back into the house.
Weapon Recovered, Revolver Claim Unconfirmed
Officers observed red marks on the victim's chest and arms consistent with the reported beating, the article notes. The victim also told police that Tran displayed a silver revolver during the assault, but a subsequent police search turned up no firearm — only a bent metal ASP or baton found hidden under a mattress. A witness confirmed the victim's account of the physical assault but did not report seeing a firearm, according to the same report.
Tran declined to give a statement to police and was arrested at the scene, MN CRIME reports. Officers responded to the early-morning assault call in Saint Paul.
What Tran Is Facing in Court
Ramsey County prosecutors charged Tran with felony second-degree assault, according to court records indexed by MN CRIME. Under Minnesota Statute § 609.222, that charge alone carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $14,000, as Sieben Cotter Law explains; the penalty rises to as much as ten years and a $20,000 fine if the assault is found to have inflicted substantial bodily harm.
The threats of violence count Tran also faces, under Minnesota Statute § 609.713, carries a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Prosecutors pursuing that charge are not required to prove Tran intended to carry out any threat — only that the communication threatened a crime of violence with intent to terrorize or in reckless disregard of causing terror, per the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes.
Expandable metal batons like the one allegedly used in the attack are generally considered dangerous weapons, and their carry is regulated, according to Justia Ask A Lawyer. The legal resource discusses restrictions on possession and carry.
Similar Weapon Cases in Ramsey County
A separate case involving an alleged August 27 incident saw Ramsey County prosecutors charge a 39-year-old Saint Paul man with felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon on September 1, after he was arrested August 30, following an alleged assault on a woman and an attempt to drive a vehicle toward her on Phalen Drive, a case Hoodline previously reported. More broadly, prosecutors may treat blunt-force tools as dangerous weapons depending on how they are deployed.
Tran was scheduled to appear in Ramsey County court on September 15, 2026. Felony cases like his are heard in the Second Judicial District at the Ramsey County Courthouse in downtown Saint Paul. The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
Case Fits a Broader Crime Trend
Statewide and regional violent-crime figures were reported in September 2026, but the available information does not establish a Ramsey County total for either 2025 or 2024.
Whether physical evidence or additional witness testimony will clarify the victim's claim that Tran displayed a silver revolver during the attack remains unresolved. Police recovered only the bent metal baton hidden under a mattress during their search, and no firearm has been found in connection with the case.
