Burnsville Woman Charged in Domestic Dispute

A Burnsville woman has been charged with domestic assault in connection with a Wednesday incident in which she is accused of hurling a drinking glass at her ex-boyfriend’s head and cutting him seriously enough to send him to the hospital.

Kristina Shea Peterson, 34, is also charged with violating a domestic abuse no-contact order and contempt of court. She made her initial appearance in Dakota County District Court on Friday and was released on $5,000 bond.

According to the complaint, Burnsville police were called to Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville Wednesday evening and spoke to the victim, Clayton Lee VanFleet, 45, who had been treated for cuts on the top of his head.

VanFleet told police that he and Peterson began arguing earlier in the evening at his apartment in the 14700 block of West Burnsville Parkway, and that he asked Peterson to leave because she was violating a November 2010 no-contact order.

He said Peterson shouted an obscenity at him, then threw a drinking glass at his head from about 3 feet away. VanFleet, who said he grabbed paper towels to hold to his bleeding head, asked Peterson what she was doing, then left his apartment to find someone to take him to the hospital.

VanFleet said Peterson went into his bedroom and “passed out,” according to the complaint.

Police said they went to VanFleet’s apartment and found Peterson crouching on her knees behind a chair and a kitchen table, attempting to hide from officers. She told officers that she had been in bed all evening, but admitted later that she had argued with VanFleet and that he had told her to leave, the complaint says.

Peterson also admitted swearing at VanFleet, but said she threw the drinking glass into the sink, which caused it to shatter, according to the complaint. She told police that she was unaware of any no-contact orders in effect; when she was shown a copy of the order, which contained VanFleet’s initials, she said she hadn’t realized that the initials referred to him.

Peterson – whose criminal history includes unrelated convictions for domestic assault in 2000 and 2007, along with two DWI convictions in 2002 and one in 2003 – was released on bond Friday with the stipulations that she stay away from VanFleet, attend treatment and remain law-abiding. An omnibus hearing in her case is scheduled for 9 a.m. July 28.