SUPERIOR — Criminal charges connected to a double stabbing in Superior have been filed against a second Duluth man.
Matthew Henry Stepan, 18, faces felony counts of armed burglary and attempted aggravated battery. He made his initial appearance in court Thursday, May 11 and waived the time limits for his preliminary hearing Wednesday, May 17.
A cash bond of $15,000 was set for Stepan, who was ordered to have no contact with co-defendant Tyler Anthony Lee Hanson, the victims or their address; and no use or possession of a dangerous weapon, controlled substance or drug-related paraphernalia. He remained in custody at the Douglas County Jail Wednesday.
Superior police officers responded to a reported stabbing at a Superior residence May 8, according to the criminal complaint. They met a victim outside the residence who had been stabbed multiple times and a victim inside who had been stabbed in the rib area. According to a press release sent by Superior Police Department Lt. Michelle Pope May 8, the incident took place in the 10 block of North 24th Street.
Two men reportedly knocked on the door of the residence asking for pills. One was wearing brass knuckles and took a swing at one of the victims, according to the complaint. A fight broke out and the second man stabbed the two victims with a knife.
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A neighbor told police officers he heard a commotion and saw a suspect run and get into a white truck. The neighbor attempted to follow it in his own vehicl, and was able to provide a license plate number to police. The truck came back registered to a Duluth woman. While she was speaking with Superior police detectives, her son, Hanson, called. Detective Chris Woolery asked if he knew what this was about. He said “something about last night” and reportedly told Woolery “I got scared and started swinging a knife,” the criminal complaint said.
A search warrant was executed on the truck. Detectives found two hooded sweatshirts with suspected blood on them, as well as blood stains on the rear passenger seat, door panel and exterior door handle, the criminal complaint said.
Hanson, 24, turned himself in to law enforcement May 9 and spoke with detectives. He reportedly told them he and a buddy had gone to the residence to buy pills. Someone he knew had told him that the person who lived there sold them.
Hanson did not identify the person who was with him. The Duluth man reportedly got scared for his buddy during the fight. He told detectives he had the knife in his pocket before he pulled it out.
The victim who was stabbed numerous times reportedly had a punctured and collapsed lung and punctured intestine. He spoke with detectives in the hospital May 9, according to the complaint. The victim said he thought it was a joke at first when he saw the two kids standing outside his house. He identified Stepan as one of the suspects from a Facebook picture. In the picture, Stepan is wearing distinctive white frame eyeglasses that appear identical to glasses that were left behind at the residence where the attack took place.
Stepan turned himself in to the Superior Police Department May 10, but declined to make a statement. Detective Sean Holmgren reported that he had facial injuries that appeared to be from an altercation.
The armed burglary charge, a class E felony, carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. The battery charge is punishable by up to seven and a half years in prison and a maximum fine of $25,000. His next court appearance was set for May 31.
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