A tree trimmer working near 2nd Street South and 12th Avenue South in Saint Cloud told officers a man holding a red pocketknife threatened him, demanded he leave, and came within about two feet of him with the blade at his side. The man has been identified as 36-year-old Cory Donavan Dodge, who now faces charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and threats of violence.
According to mn crime, officers were dispatched to the intersection after the report that a tree trimmer had been threatened. The victim told officers a white male approached him holding a red pocketknife and told him to leave the job site. At one point the man reportedly said it was two thousand dollars per tree while a second worker watched from the parking lot, seeing the man yelling about the cost per tree while holding an unidentified object.
The victim said he backed away and got into his truck, and the man then moved toward the driver's side. The victim honked the horn, and the man walked away toward the Saint Cloud Library. The worker told officers he felt very upset and afraid during the encounter.
Surveillance and Library Footage Track the Suspect
Witnesses described the man as white, in his 30s, with scruffy facial hair, wearing blue jeans with one pant leg rolled up, a white sweatshirt, and a black backpack. The report notes surveillance footage showed a person matching that description approaching the victim's truck and following both workers to the driver's side, with all three people shown in close proximity at about 2:29 p.m.
Library footage reportedly showed Dodge in the same clothing changing into a Vikings hoodie, covering it with a dark-colored shirt, and then leaving. Officers identified Dodge as a man matching the description, arrested him, and found a pocketknife similar to a Swiss Army knife in his right front pocket. A white Vikings T-shirt over a whitish-grey hoodie matching the clothing description was found in his backpack.
Prior Convictions Listed in the Complaint
The complaint filed October 28 in Stearns County District Court states Dodge has several pending cases and prior felony convictions, including threats of violence in 2018 and 2022, third-degree burglary in 2021, and felony fifth-degree assault in 2024.
Stearns County, the largest county in central Minnesota, encompasses Saint Cloud, and felony prosecutions there move through the Seventh Judicial District at the Stearns County Courthouse. Under Minnesota Statutes section 609.222, a person convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon can face up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to $14,000, or both.
Not an Isolated Report in Downtown Saint Cloud
The incident follows a separate downtown Saint Cloud case in which the Stearns County Attorney's Office charged 34-year-old Dakota Olson with felony threats of violence, according to WJON. In that case, the victim reportedly said Olson pulled a knife from his waistband and threatened to kill him, and Olson was arrested the following day.
