Felon on parole charged in armed sexual assault – Law Officer

Warning: This report contains details about sexual assault that some may find disturbing.

DAKOTA COUNTY, Minn. – An Eagan felon on parole who was previously charged with attempted murder has been newly charged in Dakota County with several felonies related to the armed sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman last week.

Donta Devon Walton, 23, was charged in Dakota County Court on Thursday with four felony counts, including first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving the use of a dangerous weapon, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault by strangulation, and felon in possession of a firearm.

Charges say Eagan police were dispatched just before 3 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 16, to the intersection of Highway 13 and Silver Bell Road on a report of a sexual assault that had occurred at a residence nearby. The victim told police she’d met the man she knew as “De’Sean” two to three weeks prior through Facebook. Police were later able to determine the identity of the male as Walton.

The victim said she was dropped off by a friend the night before at an Eagan address on the 3800 block of Willow Way. The victim said she and the male were watching a show when he told her he wanted to have sex. She said she didn’t want to, but the male put his weight against her, held her down, and raped her while the victim tried to fight him off by kicking and pushing. Charges say Walton put his hand over the victim’s mouth and choked her so she couldn’t scream. Walton finally stopped after the victim continued to kick him. She told Walton she wanted to go home and went out into the driveway to text a friend.

When Walton started to go back into the house, the victim tried to run away, but Walton grabbed her and pulled her into the garage, charges say. The victim told police that Walton pulled a gun on her and threatened to shoot her if she didn’t have sex with him again. The victim told police that Walton said he had shot people before, so he was serious. The victim said Walton held a gun to her head while having sex with her again on the garage floor and threatened to shoot her if she moved. The victim said she was bleeding from the assault and Walton took her bloody clothes and gave her a pair of pants. He told her not to tell anyone about the assault or innocent people would get hurt. The victim said Walton called an Uber and left the house, at which time she left the house and called police.

The victim was transported to a hospital where she underwent a sexual assault exam that revealed injuries.

Police obtained Uber account records for Walton’s account that showed a transaction for a pickup outside the Willow Way address and a drop off at a Robbinsdale address on the 4000 block of 47th Avenue North, which police believed to be Walton’s mother’s house.

Police subsequently learned that Walton may have been staying at an apartment in the City of New Hope on the 8100 block of Bass Lake Road. Police obtained and executed a search warrant at the property where they located Walton and took him into custody Wednesday afternoon. Police also located a black handgun wrapped in a shirt that was hidden in a kitchen cabinet. The gun matched the description by the victim as well as a photo Walton had previously sent of the gun to the victim, which showed the serial number. Police also found the clothing and shoes the victim described that Walton had been wearing.

Walton has a prior conviction on felon in possession of a firearm for a 2018 incident where charges say Walton shot a man exiting from a Metro Transit bus in Minneapolis after the two had been involved in an argument with others aboard the bus. Four other charges of attempted murder, and first- and second-degree assault were dismissed in the case upon conviction by Judge Kathryn L. Quaintance.

Donta was sentenced to 60 months in prison on the gun conviction. Department of Corrections records show that Donta was released from custody on parole in May 2022. DOC records indicate that he has been under “intensive supervised release” since then.

Walton made his first court appearance on the new rape and assault charges on Friday and remains in custody on $600,000 bail.

This article originally appeared at Alpha News.