Rochester Woman With Criminal History Accused of Assaulting RPT Driver

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester woman with a criminal history has been summoned to appear in court next month for the alleged assault of a Rochester Public Transit (RPT) bus driver. 

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The criminal complaint, filed Thursday in Olmsted County Court, says Rochester Police responded to the report of an assault of a bus driver on the afternoon of July 13. The assault call came from the 400 block of 4th St. Southeast. 

Officers spoke with the victim who said that he was on his lunch break at the 4th St. southeast Holiday gas station when a woman, identified as 34-year-old Krystal Lynette Phillips, approached the bus and asked what he was doing. The driver said Phillips grabbed the glasses off of his face and broke them after he told her he was on his break, the charges say. 

The bus driver didn’t initially report any injuries but later went to the emergency room after experiencing double-vision. It was determined his eye had been scratched when Phillips snatched his glasses, the complaint says. 

Officers were told Phillips had boarded a different RPT bus that was stopped at the intersection of 4th St. and 7th Ave. southeast and described her as hostile when they asked her about the alleged assault. She refused to answer questions and walked away from the police, according to court documents.

The Olmsted County Attorney’s Office is charging Phillips with gross-misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and gross-misdemeanor fifth-degree assault. 

Last month’s incident was not Phillip’s first run-in with RPT. Court records indicate she was convicted of third-degree property damage last December after being accused of cracking a window on RPT bus by throwing an object at it last July. 

Phillips was also convicted of harassment last December for breaking a TV and harassing shoppers at the Barlow Plaza Hy-Vee last August. She is due to make her first court appearance in the RPT bus driver assault case on September 7.