Crime & Safety

Burnsville Man Charged with Stepping on Woman's Head, Then Strangling Her

Police say Edgar Hernandez Vasquez strangled a woman in front of her two children.

A Burnsville man has been charged with knocking a woman to the ground, holding her there with his foot and then strangling her.

Edgar Hernandez Vasquez, 31, is charged with domestic assault by strangulation, a felony with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He is also charged with misdemeanor domestic assault, which carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. 

Vasquez remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $30,000 bond. He is also on an immigration hold and faces possible deportation after the charges against him are resolved.

According to the criminal complaint, Burnsville police were called to an apartment in the 1500 block of Burnsville Parkway just after noon on June 16 on a report of a domestic assault.

Officers found a crying woman with bruises on her arms and scratch marks on her neck. She told police that she and Vasquez had argued, and that he had assaulted her before leaving the apartment.

The victim said Vasquez grabbed her and pushed her to the floor, then put his foot on her head to hold her there. Vasquez then got on top of the victim and choked her with both hands around her throat, according to the complaint.

Police spoke to the victim’s children, who witnessed the incident. Both children said they saw Vasquez on top of their mother, and one of them demonstrated the manner in which Vasquez strangled her, the complaint says.


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