VIRGINIA — An ice pick or similar object was allegedly used in a July 10 attack in Babbitt in which a business owner was stabbed multiple times in the stomach and legs, according to court documents filed last week in St. Louis County District Court.
The suspect, Dylan Thomas Peterson, 29, of Grand Rapids, was charged last Wednesday with three felonies, according to the criminal complaint. He was charged with two counts of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault.
The victim, the 53-year-old owner of the NE Time NE Wear screen-printing store in Babbitt, was allegedly stabbed multiple times, court documents say. An online fundraising effort identified the stabbing victim as Leah Marie Bodas. She is reportedly recovering from serious injuries that are not life-threatening.
Meanwhile, a Babbitt man who was working in the store where the stabbing incident took place was charged with three felonies after he was accused of shooting at the stabbing suspect as he fled in a vehicle. Joel Earl Vandervest, 38, was charged with second-degree assault, intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety, and reckless discharge of a firearm.
According to the criminal complaint, Vandervest allegedly shot at the stabbing suspect as he fled the scene in a truck. Several shell casings were found by investigators at the scene that matched Vandervest’s type of gun. A neighbor said he found a bullet that went through his house. No one was hurt from the gunfire.
At the time of the incident, Petersen was free on bond while facing a pending charge that he stabbed a man in the leg in Eveleth on June 4, according to court records. He was arrested later on July 10 after he called 911 to report that he was at the Y Store near Tower and heard that police officers were looking for him. He was arrested there without incident.
Petersen was scheduled to appear in court this week. Vandervest is scheduled for an Aug. 2 court appearance.