Hill City Man Pleads Guilty to Five Counts of First Degree Assault On A Peace Officer

Roy Thomas Miller

A Hill City Man pleaded guilty to five counts of First Degree Assault on a peace officer with Deadly Force and one count of Misdemeanor Domestic Assault.

On February 10, Deputy Daniel Asmus from the Aitkin County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to a domestic assault call in the area. The owner of the home told Asmus that the victims were inside and were his ex-wife and son who had been assaulted by Roy Thomas Miller, 44, at Miller’s home in Itasca County. When Deputy Asmus went inside the home, he noticed that both victims were covered in blood.

According to the complaint, victim one said the incident started when Miller picked up the family’s dog and the dog peed on him. She said her and victim two started laughing and that’s when Miller became upset and aggressive to the point that she told him she would call the police. Miller then proceeded to grab and broke her phone. Miller threw her to the ground and punched her in the face with a closed fist. Victim two was also punched in the face before Miller began to chase them. Both victims tried to leave the house when Victim two said she lost sight of her son. Miller then went to a firearm safe and grabbed a black and white rifle and told victim one “you need to get out of here”. When Victim one noticed footprints in the driveway, she got in her car and left. Miller followed her outside and headbutted the rear window of the jeep, shattering the windows. Victim one drove off and found her son further down the road wearing only his underwear. Both victims then arrived at the home in Aitkin County where they were then transported to the Grand Itasca Hospital and received treatment for their injuries.

Victim one told law enforcement that Miller had multiple firearms in the home and stated that he had made suicidal references to her recently. Victim two told officers that he knew that Miller had firearms in the house and that he was scared for his life and his mother’s life, he thought that Miller was going to pull out a gun and shoot them both.

Itasca County law enforcement officers arrived to Miller’s home to make contact with him. While there, they heard two gun shots and saw a white Chevrolet pickup truck pull out of the driveway. They prompted Miller to stop but he raised a black handgun and began shooting at the officers. Officers shot back at Miller and his vehicle was driven into a ditch. Officers commanded him to exit the vehicle and saw him throw a handgun out of the vehicle. He was then handcuffed and provided medical treatment.

According to the terms of the plea agreement, Miller will be sentenced to between 170 – 189 months in prison for these offenses. Miller will also be required to pay restitution and fines and provide a DNA sample. He remains in custody pending sentencing which is set for 2:00 p.m. on December 18, 2019. These charges arise from an incident that occurred on February 10, 2019 in Southern Itasca County.