Man charged in 4th of July assault in St. Cloud

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A man accused of bashing a woman in the back of the head with an object on the 4th of July in St. Cloud has been charged with felony assault among other crimes.

On July 4th at 10:15 p.m., emergency dispatchers received a report of an assault on the 800 block of 7th Street South in St. Cloud. 

Upon arrival, officers said they met with a woman who was bleeding heavily from her head and whose eyes couldn’t focus. 

The woman said 40-year-old Raymond Robert Tillett had attacked her and an ambulance crew stated the victim would need staples to close the wound.

The victim told law enforcement Tillett hit her in the head with an unknown object and shoved her into her apartment. 

According to the court records, Tillett told the woman to put a rag in her mouth as she backed away from him and she begged him not to hurt her anymore.

The victim was able to escape when there was a knock at the door, and, when Tillett opened it, the woman ran out of the apartment. 

Tillett, then, allegedly left the scene in an SUV that belonged to the victim’s fiancé and inside the vehicle was an electric scooter and mountain bike.

The following day, around noon, officers found the SUV in the 300-block of 5th Avenue South, and nearby, police found Tillett riding the stolen bike from the suburban. 

He was arrested, and officers found drug paraphernalia in the form of burnt tin foil in his pocket upon his arrest.

He has been charged in Stearns County District Court with multiple counts of burglary and assault, plus possession of drug paraphernalia.

Tillett’s bail was set at $75,000.

Story by Jake Judd / KNSI News