St. Cloud woman charged with assault in connection with ax rampage
![](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/kstp_policelightsgeneric-1.jpg)
[KSTP]
A St. Cloud woman has been charged after she allegedly swung an ax at two people Saturday morning in her neighborhood.
Shelley Lynne Goff, 53, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the incident.
According to a criminal complaint, the altercation unfolded just before 11:30 a.m. near Eighth Avenue South and Fourth Street. A man was working on a ladder at his house when Goff came over and tried to hit him with the ax while he was still on the ladder. The man told police he jumped off the ladder and ran away because he thought she was going to hit him.
Goff then started chopping at a tree in the man’s yard, yelling that the man’s house "was her property and that he needed to leave," the complaint states.
Shortly after, a woman who was biking on Eighth Avenue saw Goff across the street with an ax. She told police she thought Goff was doing yard work — until she started "yelling at her about things that were incoherent." The cyclist said Goff then ran toward her and raised the ax, screaming.
The cyclist estimated Goff got as close as 8 feet away before she turned and started walking away. She told police she thought the ax-wielding woman was going to hit her.
The neighbor across the street called for police, and when officers arrived, they found Goff sitting on her front porch with an ax in her hand, the complaint states. Officers approached her and told her to put the ax down, but she didn’t comply. They deployed a Taser, but it was ineffective and Goff went into her house.
Police were eventually able to get a warrant to go inside Goff’s home and found two separate long-handled axes — one in the kitchen and another in the garage — along with several bats, crowbars and crossbows scattered around the house.
The complaint states police found the suspect in an upstairs bedroom, but while they were trying to detain her, she tried to flee by breaking a window with a bat. However, they were able to place her under arrest.
Goff is being held at the Stearns County jail. Her first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.