Noise Complaints Led MN Man To Stab Neighbor: Police

FARIBAULT, MN — A Faribault man is accused of stabbing his neighbor and fleeing the state after the neighbor made noise complaints against him.

Ricardo Ortiz, 45, was charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and first-degree burglary with intent to commit an assault.

Ortiz appeared before Judge Karie M. Anderson on March 12 and set Ortiz’s bail at $1 million without conditions and $300,000 with conditions. His next court date is May 6.

"The hard work of the Faribault Police Department investigators along with great cooperation from the Harrison County (Missouri) Sheriff’s Office allowed us to locate and apprehend Mr. Ortiz and get him back to Minnesota to face his charges," Rice County Attorney Brian Mortenson said in a statement.

On March 1 just after 11:30 p.m., Ortiz broke into his neighbor's apartment following a second call to Faribault Police about loud noises coming from Ortiz’s apartment, police said.

The neighbor told police that he was lying on his bed when he “heard a loud bang” and found Ortiz standing in his apartment with a fixed-blade knife, according to prosecutors.

When Ortiz charged, the neighbor hit Ortiz with a bat, police.

Ortiz then stabbed the victim four times, told him “I will kill you,” and “quit calling the police or I’m going to kill you,” and fled the scene, according to authorities. The 911 recording captured Ortiz’s statements, prosecutors said.

An ambulance transported the neighbor to a metro hospital where he was treated for his wounds and later released.

Ortiz fled the state of Minnesota. Ortiz was charged with attempted first-degree murder and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On March 4, authorities in Harrison County, Missouri, located and captured Ortiz and he was extradited back to Minnesota to face his charges.