Excelsior Woman Charged with Assaulting, Threatening 17-Year-Old Girl

An Excelsior woman has been charged with threatening to kill a 17-year-old girl, pulling the victim’s hair and punching her in the face after a party last week in South Lake Minnetonka.

Christina Marie Moreno, 29, is charged with making terroristic threats, a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. She is also charged with fifth-degree assault, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by South Lake Minnetonka Police Sgt. Steve Neururer, police were called to a home in the 300 block of Morse Avenue just after 11 p.m. Aug. 23 on a report of an assault.

Officers found the 17-year-old victim and her friend, who said that they had been at a going-away party for Moreno’s son that evening, and Moreno and the victim began to argue.

The victim and her friend decided to leave, and they had just gotten into the friend’s car to drive away when Moreno ran out of the house, pounded on the car window, opened the passenger door and grabbed the victim’s hair and pulled it hard, according to the complaint.

Moreno also punched the girl numerous times on the right side of her face, the complaint charges.

The girl’s friend intervened to stop the assault, and the two drove away and called police. While the victim was at the police station, she received a number of text messages from Moreno, including one that read “I’m guna kill u when I see u dumb [expletive] whore!” and “Ur [expletive] dead [expletive],” according to the complaint.

Police took photographs of all the text messages from Moreno.

Officers went to Moreno’s house and spoke to her, and she initially denied seeing or seeing the victim. However, when she was confronted with the text messages, she admitted sending them, according to the complaint.

Moreno has been released from custody on a $30,000 bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled Sept. 18 in Hennepin County District Court.