51-year-old sentenced to 1 year for fatally stabbing man

A St. Paul man is learning his future on Wednesday after fatally stabbing a man who parked his vehicle in his driveway, court records show.

Brian Harry Kjellberg, 51, was sentenced by Judge Leonardo Castro to one year at Ramsey County Correctional Facility. He is eligible to serve this time as work release or electric home monitoring.

Kjellberg has credit for five days served.

He must also pay $8,248 of restitution and serve 1,500 hours of community service over the next 10 years — or 150 hours per year.

Kjellberg was initially charged with one count of second-degree murder, which carries a 40-year maximum sentence, court records show.

According to a criminal complaint, on Dec. 2, 2021, St. Paul police officers arrived at 1720 7th Street East after Kjellberg told police dispatch that a man hit him four times in the face after Kjellberg tried to tow his car.

At the same time, officers responded to another 911 call from 1734 7th Street East, where they found 20-year-old Arnell Steward suffering from a stab wound, the complaint said. He was transported to Regions Hospital, where he later died.

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Kjellberg told law enforcement he called police and a tow company after noticing a Mercedes SUV blocking his driveway. The complaint noted that Kjellberg had several “no parking” signs in his driveway.

Law enforcement learned that Kjellberg had been waiting in his driveway after calling the tow truck when Steward ran towards him. Kjellberg yelled at Steward to not come on his property, but Steward did and he punched Kjellberg several times, the complaint said. Kjellberg then pulled out a sharpened steel pipe and stabbed Steward’s stomach.

When law enforcement asked Kjellberg why he didn’t just let Steward take the Mercedes SUV, he said he wanted it ticketed and towed so the issue wouldn’t reoccur, according to the complaint.