Man charged in stabbing at St. Paul shelter pleads guilty

A man charged in connection to a stabbing on New Year’s Eve at a St. Paul shelter has pleaded guilty to assault.

Court records show 53-year-old Robert Terry Huston pleaded guilty to third-degree assault last week as part of a plea deal.

He was initially charged with first-degree and second-degree assault after officers found him holding a knife near a bleeding man at Higher Ground on Dec. 31, 2022.

Witnesses told police that the victim and Huston were sitting in their separate bunks, arguing, when Huston said, “I’m tired of your (expletive) mouth,” then got up, struggled with the man and stabbed him in the back, a complaint states. The man was rushed to the intensive care unit in critical condition.

Third-degree assault carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. The higher charges he faced carried up to 10 and 20 years in prison.

Huston is set to be sentenced on Aug. 10.