A 20-year-old woman is facing felony charges after she allegedly beat a fellow resident of a Saint Paul shelter unconscious late on October 31, around the time officers were called at about 11:15 p.m., then chased her into a stairwell to keep hitting her, according to a criminal complaint. Harmony Joella Montgomery is charged with first-degree burglary and third-degree assault causing substantial bodily harm.
Montgomery was charged in Ramsey County District Court on November 2, according to a report from mncrime.com, which cited the criminal complaint filed in the case. Officers were called to the shelter at about 11:15 p.m. on October 31, per the complaint.
Confrontation Began Over Missing Cash
According to the report, Montgomery told officers at the scene that she had just beaten up a woman she said had stolen $36 from her. The complaint says the two women had briefly roomed together before shelter staff separated them.
Per the same account, a shift lead told officers that Montgomery had returned to the shelter after curfew and was reprimanded for it. That reprimand is what allegedly set her off: the complaint says she became irate, jumped over the employee counter, and ran up the staff-only stairs to the second floor, where she entered another resident’s room.
Victim Says She Woke Up Being Hit
The woman inside that room told investigators she woke to find Montgomery standing next to her bed, hitting her with both fists and a cell phone, the complaint states. She said her vision blurred and she lost consciousness after several blows to the head.
Another shelter resident pulled Montgomery off the woman, according to the complaint, but the attack did not end there. The complaint says the victim went downstairs for help, and Montgomery followed her into a stairwell and punched her in the face several more times.
Officers Document Injuries and Alcohol Odor
When officers arrived, they reported a strong odor of alcohol on Montgomery’s breath. Officers saw blood on the woman’s bed and injuries to her head and face, the mncrime.com article notes, citing the complaint.
Minnesota’s first-degree burglary statute, cited in court records from the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, covers entering a building without consent with intent to commit a crime, or entering without consent and then committing a crime inside — an offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison under that section. Montgomery’s case remains before Ramsey County District Court.
