Stillwater Police: Man Arrested for Kicking in a Door, Choking His Ex-Girlfriend

A 29-year-old man was arrested early Monday morning after he allegedly kicked in the front door of his ex-girlfriend’s home and then strangled her because she wouldn’t give him a ride to St. Paul.

Charges of first-degree burglary, felony domestic assault and violating an order for protection against Kenneth Hardin Jr., of St. Paul, have been forwarded to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review.

According to a police report:

Stillwater police responded to a report at about 4:24 a.m. Monday that a man just kicked in the door of a home in the 1100 block of Curve Crest Boulevard, assaulted a woman and then left on foot.

The woman told police someone began ringing the doorbell of her home at about 2 a.m., when she looked through the peephole, she saw Hardin and chose not to let him in “because she does not trust him.” Hardin reportedly continued to ring the doorbell, knocking and asking for a ride to St. Paul.

The woman reportedly told Hardin to take the bus.

After Hardin complained of being cold for a second time, the woman told police she told him to move away from the door and then she dropped a blanket outside, went back in her house and locked the door.

Soon after that Hardin allegedly kicked the door down and began to strangle the woman. He reportedly left the woman's home after police were called.

Hardin has a long criminal history of domestic violence, according to the police report.

Some of the charges detailed in Hardin’s criminal history include: convictions of misdemeanor domestic assault in July 2007, interfering with a 911 call in December 2007 and two previous domestic assault by strangulation convictions in July 2008 and June 2010.

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