Man Charged with Strangling, Menacing Woman with Samurai Sword

A Burnsville man is accused of attacking a woman in view of her children — then asking one of them to fetch a traditional Japanese sword.

Felix Marlin Mercado, 30, is charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse and making terroristic threats, a felony that carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, plus a $3,000 to $10,000 fine. 

The incident began in the early morning hours of March 15, when police were dispatched to address on Burnsville Parkway on reports of a domestic dispute. When they arrived, a witness directed officers to bedroom. While approaching the bedroom, police say they saw Mercado run to bathroom, where he was found hiding behind the shower curtain. Police tasered Mercado after he allegedly refused to cooperate with orders to come out. 

According to the criminal complaint, the woman was lying on the bed, crying and struggling to breathe. After using her inhaler for a few minutes she could speak. She said that she and Mercado were at a party with friends, drinking earlier that night. She went to bed at about 11:30 p.m. Mercado came in at 1:40 a.m. demanding the phone number of her ex-boyfriend. She said he placed his hands on her neck and karate-kicked a nearby television after she told him to calm down. The fight escalated, she said, and Mercado picked up a set of C-shaped knives, stabbing twice at the comforter that was covering her. She showed officers two cooresponding cut marks in the blanket. The woman said that in the midst of the attack her 12-year-old daughter came in the room trying to intervene. Police arrived shortly afterwards.

For her part, the daughter said she saw Mercado slap her mother at least 10 times and put his hands around her neck. The girl said she heard him say, "I'm going to kill you," before pushing another witness out of the way in pursuit of a samurai sword.

A second witness, another daughter, corroborated much of the story. She said she went in to bring her mother food and saw Mercado assaulting the woman. She added that Mercado asked her to get him a samurai sword.  

Mercado is currently being held in the Dakota County Jail on a $25,000 bond. He also faces charges stemming from another domestic incident from early January. His next hearing is scheduled for April 3.