Oakdale Man Charged with Allegedly Threatening Cab Driver

An Oakdale man was charged May 2 with assault for allegedly swinging a tire iron at a cab driver who dropped a woman off at his Oakdale home.

John L. Newton, 40, faces charges of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and terroristic threats in Washington County District Court.
The alleged incident occurred around 3:30 a.m. May 1, according to the court complaint.

A 38-year-old woman told police she and Newton were at a bar on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, and he left earlier than she did, the complaint says. She called Newton when she was about to leave, and he said he would pay for a cab ride to his home, the complaint says.
When the cab arrived at the home in the 7000 block of 15th Street, Newton allegedly ran out of the house with a tire iron, and the woman ran for the house, the complaint says.

The cab driver told police he thought Newton was going to hit the woman with the tire iron, and he got out of the cab to stop him, but then Newton turned his attention toward him and started yelling and swearing, the complaint says.

Newton then raised the tire iron over his head, and allegedly told the driver he was going to kill him, the complaint says. As Newton was trying to swing the tire iron, the driver put his hand on Newton’s elbow to stop him, the complaint says. The iron then fell out of Newton’s hand, and the driver called 9-1-1, the complaint says.

Newton told police he had done nothing wrong because he can do anything he wants on private property, the complaint says. He told police that he confronted the cab driver because he was demanding money, however, he didn’t know anything about a tire iron, according to the complaint.

Newton is charged with one count of second-degree assault, which has a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and $14,000 in fines, and one count of making terroristic threats, which has a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

His initial appearance in court is scheduled on June 23.