Home > The Blotter > Archives > Assault category
Assault
May 8, 2012
Buda man charged with second sexual assault
San Marcos police charged a Buda man today with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault after they say he offered to give a woman a ride and then attacked her.
James Robert Montoya, 38, was already being held at the Travis County Jail in connection with another aggravated kidnapping and sexual assault case involving a woman who was walking home from a downtown Austin bar last month.
On Friday, detectives learned that DNA evidence they had submitted from the February 2011 attack in San Marcos matched Montoya, pictured at right.
Officials said that Montoya offered a woman with car trouble a ride to a convenience store, but instead drove her under a highway bridge near the Blanco River and sexually assaulted her in the back of his car.
Montoya is being held in jail on $300,000 bail from the charges in Austin, officials said. San Marcos Police Commander Penny Dunn said she anticipates that amount will increase after he sees a judge on this new charge.
May 1, 2012
Texas State police still searching for assault suspect
SAN MARCOS — Texas State University police are still searching for a woman suspected of attacking a female student Sunday morning, Sgt. Alex Villalobos said.
The university issued an alert around 5 a.m. that day warning students that a Hispanic woman with a large frame wearing workout clothes had assaulted a student outside the Bobcat Village Apartments.
Villalobos said authorities haven’t received any information leading them to the suspect. He said it was “too premature” to give further details about the attack.
‘We’re trying to get some more specifics,” he said.
He asked anyone with information to call the university police’s criminal investigations division at 512-245-9012.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
April 24, 2012
Williamson sheriff's office investigating assault on gay women outside bar
A Florence woman said she and two other women were assaulted outside a bar in Weir early Sunday morning because they are gay.
The Williamson County sheriff’s office is investigating the assaults, said John Foster, a sheriff’s spokesman.
No one has been charged, said Foster, who added: “It is still too early in the investigation to conclude that this was a hate crime.”
Calls to the bar, the Bunkhouse, were not returned Tuesday.
Julie Ward, a 24-year-old Florence resident, said she went to the Bunkhouse with a few friends and her sister to play pool on Saturday. They are all lesbians, she said.
They played for about half an hour before a woman inside the bar told them that “our type was not allowed in there and that we would be removed,” Ward said.
Ward said she and her friends left and were followed outside by a group of 20 to 25 customers. Ward said she and her friends were trying to get to their car when she heard a man say, “If you’re going to dress like a man, you better be able to hit like a man.”
She said she turned around and a man hit her on the left side of the nose and she fell to the ground. She said she didn’t see what happened to her sister and her sister’s partner, but both of them had bruises on their faces after the incident, Ward said.
“Nobody tried to help us,” Ward said. “All we could hear was people calling us names,” including profane terms and derogatory references to their sexual orientation.
She said she called the sheriff’s office after she and her friends drove away.
“I thought the days of bigotry were over,” she said.
Daniel Christensen, an attorney who said he represents the owners of the Bunkhouse, said Wednesday that “any claim that the women at the bar on Saturday night were asked to leave the bar because of their sexual orientation is entirely false.”
Weir is a town of about 660 people northeast of Georgetown.
This blog entry has been updated with a comment Wednesday from the lawyer of the owners of the bar.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
April 11, 2012
High school student accused of kicking, punching teacher
A Stony Point High School student faces felony charges for kicking and punching a member of the school’s staff, according to an arrest affidavit.
The student was upset with teaching staff at the high school Monday and began to swing at teachers as he tried to leave a classroom, the affidavit said. Raymond Owens attempted to restrain the student, the affidavit said.The student fell to the floor and kicked Owens in the groin, “causing him a great deal of pain,” the affidavit said. The student also punched Owens in the right shoulder, according to the affidavit.
The Stony Point High School web site shows Owens employed as an educational assistant.
The student was arrested and taken to the Williamson County jail, where he remains. He is charged with assault on a public servant. His bond was set at $5,000.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
March 29, 2012
Warrant: Wife brings out shotgun after man dumps dinner
Police have charged a Leander woman after they said she threatened her husband with a loaded shotgun for pouring the meal she made down the drain, according to an arrest warrant.
Melissa Leigh Migliore, 38, seen at right, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to an arrest warrant. Her husband, William Migliore, told police that he had been arguing with her while she was making dinner Tuesday at their house on Tablerock Circle in Leander, the warrant said.
He said he entered the bedroom where she was lying down and told her that he had poured the meal down the sink and that she owed him an apology, the warrant said.
A short time later, Melissa Migliore stepped out of the bedroom carrying a shotgun, walked down the hallway, loaded the gun and pointed it at him, according to the warrant. She told him he had 30 seconds to leave the house or she would shoot him, the warrant said.
He left the house with his son and called 911, said the warrant. When police arrived, they found aloaded shotgun leaning against a bedroom wall buckshot rounds on the ground next to the gun, the warrant said.
Melissa Migliore, who was at the house, told police that her husband was being verbally abusive and knocking things around while they were arguing and she was making dinner, according to the warrant.
She said that when her husband told her that he had dumped the soup in the sink, she “had had enough, grabbed her shotgun and loaded it,” the warrant said.
She said she pointed the weapon toward the ceiling and told her husband to leave, according to the warrant. Melissa Migliore was arrested and later released from the Williamson County Jail after posting bond on a $20,000 bail.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
March 22, 2012
Authorities still searching for sexual assault suspect
Update: Hays County authorities are still searching for a man officials say sexually assaulted a 17-year-old before trying to kill her last week.
The man lured the girl into his car, described as a white SUV, at an Austin Capital Metro bus stop the morning of March 15 and drove her to an isolated area in Dripping Springs where he sexually assaulted her, Sgt. Jeri Skrocki said.
Skrocki said investigators believe the man realized the girl might be able to identify him and so stabbed her repeatedly, leaving her for dead. Stripped of her clothing, the girl stumbled toward the sound of traffic and tried to flag down help.
A passing driving saw her and called the sheriff’s office, Skrocki said.
“This woman had been brutalized,” Skrocki said.
The girl was taken in critical condition to University Medical Center Brackenridge for treatment and has since been released from the hospital, Skrocki said.
Skrocki said the girl is a student but wouldn’t say where or where she lived. Officials originally said the girl was a hitchhiker but no longer believe that to be the case.
No similar incidents have been reported, she said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to email cid@co.hays.tx.us, or call 512-393-7814 during the day or 512-393-7896 after hours.
Hays County Crime Stoppers is also offering a $1,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the suspect. Anyone with information can call 1-800-324-8477.
Earlier: Hays County authorities are still searching for a man who sexually assaulted a 17-year-old girl last week after luring her into his car in Austin.
The girl was found with stab wounds on the road last Thursday in Dripping Springs by a passing driver, who alerted the Hays County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect was described as black; 5 feet, 8 inches to 6 feet, 1-inch tall; in his early 40s with a medium to heavy build, according to the sheriff’s office. He had no facial hair and some hair on his head, with a tattoo on his left arm.
The teen, whose identity is not being released, initially told investigators that she had been hitchhiking before she was attacked.
A further investigation shows the girl had been at a bus stop at 51st Street and Manor Road in Austin about 9:45 a.m. when she was lured into the suspect’s white vehicle, the sheriff’s office said today. The teen was found about two hours later at U.S. 290 near County Road 165 west of Dripping Springs near the Burnet County line, officials said.
The Hays County Crime Stoppers ask anyone with information about the crime to call 1-800-324-8477. Information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the man qualifies for a $1,000 reward.
February 1, 2012
Kyle Police: Reported assault on high-schooler didn't happen
A reported assault on a high school student did not happen, Kyle police said.
Officials at the Hays Consolidated I.S.D. issued a release to students and parents at a number of area schools Monday, warning of a potential predator after a 15-year-old girl reported she was walking on Lehman Road when a man tried to attack her.
Police Chief Jeff Barnett said police have credible information indicating that the assault didn’t occur.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
January 30, 2012
Police seek victims, suspects in downtown assault
Austin police are searching for several people involved in a violent downtown assault this month that was not reported to authorities but was captured in photos later turned in by a witness.
Detectives are asking the public’s help in finding the victims and assailants in the incident that was said to have occurred in the early hours of Jan. 8 in the 700 block of San Jacinto Boulevard. Several bystanders witnessed the attack but did not call police at the time, authorities said.
Police said a witness provided photos to detectives on Tuesday, prompting the investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to please call police at 974-5515.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
January 23, 2012
San Marcos man charged with sexual assault, kidnapping is caught at border
(Updated Jan. 26 with correction on where police said an assault is said to have occurred. Travis County sheriff’s spokesman said the location was in Travis County, not Cedar Park.)
A San Marcos man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Texas State student is awaiting extradition to Hays County after he was caught at the border in Laredo.
Steve Cantaloupi, 28, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at knifepoint last Tuesday before taking her to a location in northwest Travis County between Jonestown and Lago Vista, where, the woman told Texas State police, he assaulted her again, Texas State University investigator Alexander Villalobos said. After he released her, the woman said she ran to the nearest residence and called 911, Villalobos said.
U.S. Customs officers arrested Cantaloupi at the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday. He has been charged with aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping, both felony offenses.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
Man arrested after assault at East Austin pawn shop
Austin police have arrested a man they said pointed a rifle at another man in the parking lot of an East Austin pawn shop last week.
Johnny Rios, 70, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, in connection to the Jan. 19 incident, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. His bail was set at $50,000.
The victim told police Rios yelled at a clerk inside the EZ Pawn Shop at 1900 E. Seventh St., saying that he wanted his money back because an item he purchased had broken, the affidavit said.
The victim told officers that Rios then began cursing at a him outside because he had parked his car too close to Rios’ vehicle, the affidavit said. Rios walked between their two cars and pointed a rifle at him through the passenger’s side, the affidavit said. The victim went inside the pawn shop to alert the clerk that Rios had a gun, the affidavit said.
Officers stopped Rios at about 5 p.m. that same day, the affidavit said, and confiscated a Ruger .22 rifle from his 2005 red Ford Thunderbird.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
January 1, 2012
Two sought in Elgin shooting
Two suspects are being sought in an early morning shooting in Elgin that left two people wounded.
Around 2 a.m., an argument erupted between the suspects, Ray Charles Joiner, 32, and Wesley Wade, 21, and a group of people in a parking lot along U.S. 290 over how fast the two were driving in the parking lot.
Witnesses told police that two then fired multiple rounds at the group, wounding a man and a woman, and then left the scene. Both of the victims were in stable condition, police said.
Warrants for aggravated assault have been issued for the two suspects.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 28, 2011
Man held in assault outside City Hall
Police have arrested a man they said assaulted his girlfriend for leaving an open soda can on a table at the Occupy Austin gathering in front of City Hall.
Edward Dean, 31, has been charged with assault by strangulation/suffocation-family violence, a second-degree felony, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. He was in the Travis County Jail Wednesday with bail set at $40,000.
A police officer said he was flagged down Monday by the man’s girlfriend, who said Dean had become upset with her for leaving the open can on the table for more than 24 hours, the affidavit said. He elbowed her in the face, and they began to pull blankets back and forth in the struggle before he pushed her to the ground and began to choke her, the affidavit said.
The victim managed to free herself and call the officer, according to court records.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 14, 2011
Man charged in aggravated assault near Austin shelter
A man is facing an aggravated assault charge after an altercation near a downtown homeless shelter left another man with critical injuries and on life support, according to an arrest affidavit.
Harold Hickey Jr., 22, is facing the felony charge after another man suffered head trauma during an encounter with the victim outside the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, or ARCH, the affidavit said.
The victim, 57-year-old James Camp, was found conscious but bleeding and lying on his back along a nearby sidewalk along 700 Neches Street shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, the affidavit said.
Hickey told police he pushed Camp in self-defense after he tried to intervene in an argument involving his friend, the affidavit said. Camp had attempted to burn Hickey with a cigar after insulting Hickey’s friend, the affidavit said.
Camp was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, where his condition deteriorated and he was placed on life support by Monday, the affidavit said. As of Wednesday afternoon, Camp was listed in serious condition, a hospital official said.
Hickey was shown booked on the felony charge yesterday, and remained jailed on a $15,000 bail today, jail records show.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
Police seeking suspect in woman's assault during door-to-door sale
Austin police are asking for the public’s help in locating a suspect they say led a door-to-door salesman into a vacant home and attacked her yesterday.
Police Lt. Michael Eveleth said that on Tuesday afternoon, a 19-year-old woman was doing door-to-door vacuum sales on Dearbonne Drive in Del Valle when she was approached by a man who said he was interested in her products. They went to a house at 13100 Dearbonne Drive that she assumed was his, and then he violently attacked her, Eveleth said.
“We believe the intent of the attack was sexual in nature,” Eveleth said. He said she was later treated and released from University Medical Center Brackenridge.
Eveleth said police are hoping the public can provide tips about the suspect or the house, which he said the suspect may have known to be vacant.
Police released a description of the assailant in hopes that neighbors might have seen him: a white male in his mid-30s, about 5-foot 10-inches tall with short blond hair with sideburns and chin stubble, a thin build and a light complexion with possible sunburns. He was wearing a burnt orange T-shirt with blue jeans, tan work boots and a dark blue baseball hat and jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at (512) 974-5925 or (512) 472-TIPS.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 11, 2011
South Austin shooting leads to chase, ends in crash
Police arrested two people in connection with a shooting that led to a vehicle chase in South Austin, according to arrest affidavits.
Before 1 a.m. Saturday, a woman driving a green Chevrolet rammed it into a white Nissan, according to two of the Nissan’s four occupants, the affidavits said. The Nissan passengers said the Chevy then drove in front of the Nissan on Manchaca Road south of West Slaughter Lane, and the passenger of the Chevy fired about seven shots at the Nissan, the affidavits said.
The Chevy’s driver, Ashley Fuentes, 26, and passenger, Jason Steele, 27, are in Travis County jail each charged with aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, according to jail records. Fuentes was also charged with possession of a controlled substance, an affidavit said. Bail for Fuentes is $70,000 and for Steele $50,000, according to jail records.
Following the shooting incident, the Nissan, whose occupants police did not identify, drove north on Manchaca then turned left on Slaughter, the affidavits said. The Chevy continued following the Nissan for more than three miles until the Nissan crashed into another car at the intersection of Slaughter and MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) about 1:10 a.m., the affidavits said.
The occupants of the Nissan were treated with minor injuries. It wasn’t clear if the occupants of the other car were hurt.
Two of the Nissan’s passengers said a third passenger, called only “Richard,” had a falling out with Steele, who used to be his friend, the affidavit said. “Richard,” however, told police he did not see anything and did not know who was shooting at him, the affidavits said.
Police found Fuentes and Steele at their home off Manchaca, south of Slaughter, where their car was found nearby with white paint marks; police also found a silver and black .22 caliber handgun in the home, the affidavits said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault, Shooting
December 2, 2011
Man accused of burning wife with iron receives 20-year sentence
A Williamson County jury today sentenced a man convicted of burning his wife with an iron to 20 years in prison. A jury found Hugo Alquicira guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Thursday. The sentence is the maximum possible.
There are still retaliation charges pending against him involving threats he made to his children, according to the Williamson County district attorney’s office.
The iron incident happened June 27, 2010, at the couple’s house in Hutto while their three children were at home. Alquicira told officers when he was arrested that his wife’s injuries came from falling off a bike, according to the district attorney’s office.
During the trial he testified that he was trying to defend himself against his wife attacking him with a sex toy during a two-day argument. He also testified that he thought his wife’s injuries happened when she was holding onto a bumper of a car as he was driving away during the argument.
The couple has since divorced.
Listen to a 911 call from a neighbor
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 1, 2011
Jury convicts man accused of burning wife with iron
A Williamson County jury has convicted a man accused of burning his wife with an iron, and the sentencing phase of the trial begins this afternoon in the 277th District Courtroom in the Williamson County Courthouse in Georgetown.
Hugo Alquicira was found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
One of Alquicira’s attorneys, Ray Espersen, said during closing arguments this morning that prosecutors could not prove that Alquicira attacked his wife, Maria Isabel Puente, with a deadly weapon. Espersen said Puente had wounds on her shoulder and her back but argued that they weren’t that bad because Puente refused further medical treatment after paramedics treated her at the scene of the incident.
The attack happened at the couple’s house in Hutto on June 27, 2010, while their three children were at home.
None of the children saw Alquicira hit his wife with the iron, and Puente herself said she didn’t see it either because she was on her stomach when Alquicira pressed the iron on her, Espersen said.
Esperson also questioned Puente’s credibility. A two-day argument began between her and Alquicira the day before because she got a text on her cell phone and said she didn’t know who sent it, Espersen said. “Does anyone believe that?” Espersen asked.
Prosecutor Stacey Mathews said the state did not have to prove that Alquicira caused serious bodily injury with the iron in order to show that he was guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
She also said that Alquicira hit Puente with the iron.
“I’m pretty sure that when you put an iron on someone you’re striking them,” she said. Puente was on her stomach when Alquicira burned her with the iron and didn’t see him doing it but said she “felt something hit me,” Mathews said.
Puente also said she felt like she was “going to die” when Alquicira attacked her, Mathews said. Mathews also attacked Alquicira’s credibility. She said he kept changing his answers when she questioned him during his testimony Wednesday and he kept blaming other people.
“Everything is always somebody else’s fault,” Mathews said.
Alquicira and his wife have since divorced since the incident happened in June 2010.
Alquicira’s testimony Wednesday caused a stir when he said that he pushed his wife after she assaulted him with a sex toy and later said she had only touched his buttocks with the device. The jury was sent out of the courtroom after the statement.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
November 30, 2011
Third attacker sentenced for assaulting disabled teen
A third person has been sentenced for an assault on a Cedar Park teenager with a mental disability.
Brandon Pelfrey, 19, pleaded guilty to injury to a disabled person and was sentenced by a judge to four years in prison.
Pelfrey (pictured) was eligible for probation, according to the Williamson County district attorney’s office. Tyler James Bracamontez, 17, and Markus Ole Mathis, 22, have already pleaded guilty in the case, and each were sentenced Nov. 2 to four years in prison.
The 19-year-old Cedar Park teenager who was assaulted Sept. 3 had cuts and bruises on his body as well as a cigarette burn, police said. He also reported being choked until he was unconscious, police officers said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
November 21, 2011
Police: Driver leads police on chase after falling asleep in intersection
A man is in custody after police said he passed out in car his while stopped at an intersection, was woken up by an officer and led them on a brief chase, according to an arrest affidavit.
About 3:30 a.m. Thursday, an officer saw a car stopped in the left turn lane on the southbound Interstate 35 frontage road and Airport Boulevard through two green light cycles, the affidavit said. An officer approached the vehicle and saw a man, later identified as Paul Vallejo, passed out with his foot on the brake and the car in drive, the affidavit said.
Another officer arrived and parked his car in front of Vallejo’s with his emergency lights on when the first officer knocked on Vallejo’s window to wake him up, the document said. Vallejo reversed, hit a police car and nearly struck an officer, then turned left, away from the police car in front of him, and drove down the southbound frontage road, the affidavit said.
Vallejo drove about a mile south to East 38½ street where he turned left and crashed into a concrete barrier, the affidavit said. Officers followed Vallejo on foot and arrested him with their Tasers pointed at him, the affidavit said.
Vallejo, 32, is in Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle on three felony charges with bail set at $120,000, according to jail records.
Vallejo was charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, a first-degree felony, evading arrest, a state jail felony, and possession of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony, for some crack cocaine found in his car, the affidavit said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault, High speed chase, drugs
Three charged in gang fight at Reagan High
Four gang members beat a member of a rival gang in the head with a metal pipe last week at Reagan High School in Northeast Austin, according to arrest affidavits.
Three teen members of a gang were charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, after police say they looked for a rival gang member to fight about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, affidavits said. A fourth male who participated in the fight was not in Travis County court records, meaning he either was not charged or is a juvenile.
According to the affidavits, one of the suspects, Omar Gutierrez-Flores, 17, got in a fight with a rival gang member early Thursday, another suspect, 19-year-old Paulino Tavera, told Austin school district police, according to the affidavit. After the fight, Tavera went home with Gutierrez-Flores and another male and contacted another gang member, Carlos Alfred Martinez Penaloza, 17, to drive them around to find some members of the rival gang to assault, the affidavit said.
Penaloza, Gutierrez-Flores and Tavera were not in custody Monday afternoon. Bail for Gutierrez-Flores is set at $30,000; bail for Penaloza and Tavera is $20,000 each.
The teens saw a member of the rival gang on the track area and began displaying each other’s respective gang signs, the affidavit said. The fought the male and eventually ran back to the car and drove to Gutierrez-Flores’s apartment, the affidavit said.
The victim was taken to the hospital by EMS, the affidavit said. It was not clear from the documents how badly he was injured.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
November 20, 2011
Manor man threatened another with a rifle, police say
A Manor man threatened another with a rifle after being confronted about giving beer to children, according to an arrest affidavit.
Christian Zuvieta-Munoz, 19, is in custody on $10,000 bail for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to jail records.
A 37-old-man saw several people including Zuvieta-Munoz giving beer to children in front of a mobile home in mobile home park near U.S. 290 and FM 1100 about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, the affidavit said.
The man said Zuvieta-Munoz told him to leave. Zuvieta-Munoz then went inside the trailer and returned with a rifle, the affidavit said.
Police later found a Winchester 22 Rifle under a piece of carpet inside the home with ammunition nearby, the affidavit said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
November 7, 2011
Police: Man threatened others with 10-inch knife downtown
Police arrested a man they believe pulled a 10-inch knife on three men in the Sixth Street area early Sunday, according to an arrest affidavit.
Raymond Rivera III, 30, is in Travis County jail, charged with three second-degree felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, records show. According to affidavits, he chased three men along Trinity Street between Fifth and Sixth streets at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Rivera attempted to assault one of the men about an hour earlier inside a club on Sixth Street, the affidavit said. The man knocked down Rivera, who was then kicked out of the club for fighting and left before police arrived, the affidavit said.
Later, when Rivera was threatening the three men with the knife, the crowd around the men came to their help; Rivera then ran away and told a police officer that a group of people was trying to “jump” him, the affidavit said.
The men then told the officer that Rivera has a “big knife;” the officer chased Rivera for about half a block and saw him throw a rolled up t-shirt behind a dumpster, the affidavit said. After detaining Rivera, the officer found the shirt and a knife inside it, the affidavit said.
Rivera is also charged with a felony for evading arrest on foot and a misdemeanor for unlawful carrying of a weapon, according to jail records. His bail for the five charges is $68,500.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
November 2, 2011
Man badly injured in downtown fight early Tuesday
One man remains hospitalized in serious condition after a fight early Tuesday near the Sixth Street area downtown. The man was punched to the ground and fractured his skull, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police arrested Westen Taylor, 25, after he punched Beau Pesa to the ground around 2 a.m. Tuesday on San Jacinto Boulevard between Fifth and Sixth streets, the affidavit said.
Taylor was charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony. He had posted $25,000 bail by this afternoon.
A doctor told police that Pesa, who was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, could have brain damage or die from the injuries, which include brain bleeding, the affidavit said. The document did not list an age for Pesa.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 31, 2011
Man, friend accused of pointing shotguns at ex-girlfriend
Two men were charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following an incident in East Austin Friday.
Police said Devin Rodriguez, 19, and Louis Charles Renteria, 18, were armed with guns when they threatened 32-year-old Shymanic Jones, Rodriguez’ ex-girlfriend outside her apartment about 3 p.m. Friday, according to an arrest affidavit.
Rodriguez also verbally threatened Jones and her brother Drayton Jones while holding a black and silver sawed-off, single-shot .410 shotgun, the affidavit said. Renteria wielded a 20 gauge brown shotgun, the affidavit said.
When Jones began calling police, the two men threatened her again before driving away in a gold Chevy Lumina, the affidavit said. One of them fired a shot from the moving vehicle, the affidavit said.
Both men were arrested Saturday. In an interview with police, Rodriguez said he was the one who fired the weapon, the affidavit said. Renteria told police that he pointed a shotgun at Jones when she threatened to call police, the affidavit said.
A third man told officers where he had stashed the guns, which police found after obtaining search warrants.
Renteria is being held at the Travis County jail on $100,000 bail.
In addition to the assault on Jones, Rodriguez also is charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, related to an incident Friday morning, an arrest affidavit said.
Police said Rodriguez pointed a BB gun at a tow truck driver who was attempting to tow Rodriguez’s Chevy Lumina from the same apartment complex where he was later accused of assaulting Jones.
Rodriguez’s bail is $150,000 total.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 30, 2011
Man charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
Esequiel Fuentes was arrested Saturday night and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Police say Fuentes threatened another man with a knife at the Barcelona club at 209 E. Sixth St.
The arrest affidavit for Fuentes says a man was dancing at the club when he bumped into Fuentes, 25, on the dance floor. After a verbal exchange, police say Fuentes pulled a knife on the man, the arrest affidavit said. The man told police that Fuentes put away the knife and went back to dancing, the affidavit said. The man then reported the incident to a security guard at the club.
In the arrest affidavit, police said officers found Fuentes outside the club with a Smith & Wesson Extreme Ops folding knife on the ground nearby.
Fuentes is being held on a $25,000 bail.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 25, 2011
Woman charged with ramming pedicab, running over passenger's foot
Updated at 4:42 p.m.: Police also charged the woman with driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor.
Earlier: A 19-year-old woman rammed a pedicab with her SUV downtown and then ran over one of the passengers early Sunday, according to an arrest affidavit.
Elle Obering Obrien is not in custody after police charged her with aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, a second-degree felony, according to jail records.
Obrien, who police said they believe was drunk at the time, drove her BMW SUV into a pedicab on East Fourth Street near San Jacinto Boulevard after she threw a bowl of ice cream at the cab’s passengers, the affidavit said. One of the passengers told police she was afraid she would get hurt and stepped out of the pedicab when Obrien ran over the woman’s foot, the affidavit said. The passenger was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, it said.
Police found Obrien and her passenger at the P. Terry’s restaurant on South Lamar Boulevard near Barton Springs Road, where she was given a field sobriety test, the affidavit said.
Obrien yelled obscenities at the officer while he asked her for a blood or breath sample to test for alcohol, the document said. She also told police that she had been drinking and took several prescription drugs, the affidavit said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 22, 2011
Man arrested after knife incident at Occupy Austin camp
A 23-year-old Austin man faces aggravated assault charges after police say he pulled a knife and made threatening gestures Saturday night at the Occupy Austin gathering in front of City Hall. No one was hurt in the incident, which witnesses said occurred after a verbal altercation regarding food distribution.
Billy Joe Lewis-Kubisiak was arrested around 8:30 p.m. Police said he was intoxicated and is not a member of the Occupy Austin group, which has been camped out in front of City Hall for nearly a month.
Lt. David Socha said local transients are “infiltrating” the encampment and said the problem was not caused by “the people doing the protest.”
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 3, 2011
Woman charged with assault on an officer
A woman was charged with assaulting an officer Friday after police say she attempted to run over the officer with her car, according to an arrest affidavit.
Emergency medical workers were attempting to treat Nicole Murchison, 44, at her North Austin apartment, said the affidavit, which was filed earlier today. The medics called for police assistance after Murchison became uncooperative when told she’d be taken to the hospital, the affidavit said. The affidavit said a man at the home told medical workers and officers that the pair had been using cocaine the previous night.
After officers arrived, Murchison said that she wanted to retrieve items from her garage and car. An officer followed her out, and Murchison started her 2001 Dodge Durango and “knowingly and intentionally turned her steering wheel in a manner that would cause her vehicle to run over” the officer, the affidavit said.
The affidavit identifies the officer as M. Strobo; Austin Police Department officials did not return calls made to confirm the officer’s identity.
She was arrested after crashing the SUV, the affidavit said. Neither Murchison nor Strobo were injured, it said.
Murchison kicked Strobo when the officer tried to help her out of the vehicle, the affidavit said. The officer did not seek medical attention.
Murchison is charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, a first-degree felony, and with evading in a motor vehicle, a third-degree felony. She was being held Monday at the Travis County Correctional Complex on $60,000 bail.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
September 18, 2011
Man punched officer, police say
A man punched a police officer after two officers tried handcuffing and frisking him Saturday morning, according to an arrest affidavit.
Austin police arrived at a 7-Eleven in South Austin in response to a call about a man causing a disturbance, the affidavit said. When an officer tried to handcuff and frisk Karemeth Holiday Jr., whom the manager of the 7-Eleven identified as causing a disturbance, he resisted and began a tussle with two officers, the affidavit said.
One officer eventually took Holiday down, at which point Holiday punched the other officer in the face, the affidavit said. The officer sustained a scratch above his nose and on his upper lip, the affidavit said.
Holiday, 35, is in the Travis County Jail on $20,000 bail, charged with assault on a police officer, a felony, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
September 17, 2011
Man charged in attack near Driskill Hotel
Austin police arrested a 24-year-old man after they say he attacked a 16-year-old Nashville boy in front of the Driskill Hotel early Saturday morning, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police say Mark Anthony Kerr drew his knife across the victim’s throat, but did not cut the boy, who was staying at the Driskill Hotel with his family, the affidavit said. The incident occurred shortly after closing time for the bars on 6th Street. Kerr was charged with aggravated assault.
Kerr also faces a possession of a controlled substance charge after police found nine bags of cocaine, weighing nearly eight grams, in his pockets.
Kerr was being held at the Travis County Jail with bail set at $100,000 on the assault charge and $75,000 on the drug charge.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
September 14, 2011
Dance routine prompted fight between teens, police say
A fight over a dance routine led to one teenager punching another, breaking his jaw and causing facial paralysis, according to an arrest affidavit filed with Travis County courts today.
Tomas Tapia, 16, has been charged with aggravated assault in connection with the incident, the affidavit said. He is not currently in custody, according to jail records.
Tapia was practicing dance routines for an upcoming party along with three friends at a home on Wentworth Drive in East Austin in July, according to the affidavit.
One of the teens, Rosendo Jaimes, 16, became upset because his friend Osman Silva was rehearsing a song that only featured lyrics about him and not the whole group, the affidavit said.
That’s when the suspect’s brother Jarim Tapia got into an argument with Jaimes, the affidavit said. Tomas Tapia then intervened by punching Jaimes in the face, the affidavit said.
Jaimes was then treated at an area hospital for a broken jaw. A doctor who treated him told police that one of Jaimes’ nerves was severed, resulting in lifelong numbness to his lower lip and teeth, the affidavit said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
September 12, 2011
Fifth arrest made in assault of mentally disabled man
A fifth person who was being sought in the Sept. 3 beating of a teen with mental disabilities has been arrested, Cedar Park police said today.
Markus Mathis, 21, was arrested Saturday and charged with injury to a disabled person, police spokesman Jeffrey Hayes said. Four others were already in custody.
The victim, a Leander 19-year-old was at a party at a house in the 1500 block of Cedar Park Drive when he got into a physical altercation with multiple people, according to an arrest warrant.
He left the party and began to walk home when Mathis, two other men and two juveniles caught up to him at a park at the corner of Cedar Park Drive and Prize Oaks Drive and began punching him several times until he fell on the ground, the warrant said.
The five attackers continued to punch and kick the victim while he was on the ground, according to the warrant. There was a witness who saw Mathis assault the victim, the warrant said.
The 19-year-old, was choked until he was unconscious, and some in the group urinated and burned him, according to an arrest warrant. He was found outside a house in Cedar Park and was treated at a local hospital.
Brandon Pelfrey, 18, and Tyler Bracamontez, 17, were charged with injury to a disabled person, a second-degree felony, according to arrest warrants. They could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Two juveniles have also been charged with injury to a disabled person in the case, said Capt. Jeffrey Hayes, a Cedar Park police spokesman.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
September 3, 2011
Cedric Benson released from jail 14 days early
UPDATE: Sam Bassett, Benson’s lawyer, said the Cincinnati Bengals running back mopped floors and assisted paint crews while in jail.
“Every inmate in his circumstance is treated the same for purposes of calculating jail time credit,” Bassett said. “He looks forward to getting back to work and having a good season.”
EARLIER: NFL running back and former University of Texas football star Cedric Benson was released from the Travis County Jail at 1:30 p.m. today.
Benson was sentenced to 20 days in jail on Monday after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge. He had been accused of punching a downtown Austin bar worker.
Benson only served six of his 20 day sentence because he worked in the jail for each of the six days he was there, said Roger Wade, a spokesman with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. Earning three days for each day worked, Benson knocked 18 days off of his sentence in six.
Benson also “had some credit” for the days he served in jail before his sentence, Wade said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
August 23, 2011
Police: Man tried to run over two people
A man tried to run over two people after getting in a fight with one of them in Southeast Austin on Thursday morning, according to arrest affidavits filed Monday.
Samuel Bouknight, 30, tried to run over a woman who police said was a prostitute and her friend, the affidavits said.
Bouknight, who is from Houston, was in the Travis County Jail, charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, a second-degree felony. His bail is $60,000.
After Bouknight asked the woman to enter the car in the 2100 block of Burton Drive at 10:35 a.m., she decided against it, the affidavits said. Bouknight got upset and began fighting with the woman, affidavits said.
He eventually returned to his car and drove toward the woman, the affidavits said, and a man pulled her out of the way. The man and woman were not hit by the car, which eventually crashed into a fence, the affidavits said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
Man arrested in South Austin stabbing
Police have arrested a man they say stabbed another man during a robbery attempt in a South Austin alley early Sunday.
Travis Anthony Denham, 26, approached a man about 2 a.m. Sunday and asked for his possessions, an arrest affidavit said. The man told police that he began fighting Denham using his karate training, the affidavit said.
The man told police he did not see a sharp object but felt what might have been a cut in his back and realized later that he was bleeding. He was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge and was later released.
Denham told police that he fought with the man, the affidavit said, but did not mention stabbing him.
Denham, who police said is homeless, is in Travis County Jail on $100,000 bail. He is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
August 10, 2011
Police: man threatened another with a pickaxe after being thrown out of club
UPDATE:Austin police charged Harrison Serrato-Gomez, 25, with aggravated assault, accusing him of hitting a worker at the El Tacolote bar with a beer bottle early Saturday.
In correcting information included in an arrest affidavit, police officials said today that Serrato-Gomez was escorted out of El Tacolote, went to his car, got a pickax and threatened the same staffer in the parking lot of a nearby bar, the Rodeo Night Club, formerly known as Desperados.
Neither the altercation with the beer bottle, nor the ax happened inside Rodeo Night Club.
EARLIER: A man is in custody after police say he threatened another man with a pickaxe and hit him with a beer bottle in a North Austin club early Saturday.
Harrison Serrato-Gomez, 25, struck a club staffer after the staffer tried to escort Serrato-Gomez out of Club Desperado on North Lamar near Rundberg Lane, according to an arrest affidavit.
Serrato-Gomez then went to his car, got a pickaxe and threatened the same club staffer, swinging the pickaxe near his head, the affidavit said. Serrato-Gomez was charged with aggravated assault, a felony; his bail is set at $10,000.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
July 15, 2011
Man charged with beating bus driver also charged in pastor's attack
Authorities Thursday filed additional charges against a man accused of assaulting a Capital Metro bus driver last month.
Days before the bus driver’s assault, Rickey Desean Walls (pictured) robbed and assaulted a 69-year-old pastor of a North Austin Lutheran church, according to an arrest affidavit. Walls is also charged in a third assault and robbery committed at a South Austin park, following the attack on the pastor.
Walls, 31, was charged Thursday with aggravated robbery. Police said in the affidavit that on June 7 Walls attacked the Rev. Karl Gronberg at the Gethsemane Lutheran Church, 200 W. Anderson Lane, as the pastor was picking up trash outside.
Gronberg told police he saw a man walking through the grassy area around the property. Gronberg tried to speak to the man, later identified as Walls, but Walls attacked him, repeatedly punched him in the head and knocked him to the ground, the affidavit said.
Walls then ran away with Gronberg’s wallet, the affidavit said. Gronberg called 911 and paramedics treated him for lacerations on his head and knees. Police lifted fingerprints off Gronberg’s vehicle and turned them in as evidence.
Walls has also been charged with aggravated robbery by assault in connection with an attack on a Capital Metro bus driver on June 10. Sgt. Brian Miller said at the time that surveillance video shows that Walls repeatedly punched the driver and later went through his pockets. No one else was on the bus at the time.
Then on June 12, police received a call about a robbery in Gillis Park in South Austin. A suspect matching the description of the man involved in the two previous robberies attacked a man at the park’s basketball courts. Officers arrived at the park and took Walls into custody, the affidavit said.
Gronberg picked Walls out of a photo lineup, the affidavit said, and the fingerprints taken during the investigation into that attacked were linked to Walls as well.
Gronberg could not immediately be reached today for comment.
Walls remains in custody at the Travis County Jail. He is charged with robbery and two counts of aggravated robbery.
In March 2010, Walls was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault with injury after police said he attacked several people downtown, including an off-duty Dallas police officer.
Under a plea bargain with prosecutors, Walls pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in June 2010 and was sentenced to 10 months in the Travis County Jail, according to court records.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
July 13, 2011
Man charged after pedestrian struck by vehicle following altercation
A man has been charged with aggravated assault after his BMW struck a pedestrian following an altercation in the downtown area, according to an arrest affidavit.
Ezequiel Medina Carreto, 24, is facing the second-degree felony after he was identified as the driver of the vehicle that struck a male pedestrian during the May 28th incident near 5th Street and West Avenue, the affidavit said.
The victim was walking back to his residence at the 800 block of West Fifth Street around 2 a.m. when he “accidentally bumped into a group of unknown pedestrians,” the affidavit said. The group of pedestrians, including Medina Carreto, began assaulting the victim until a nearby security officer broke up the fight, the affidavit said.
The group of pedestrians then got into the BMW, which swerved towards the victim and struck him in the legs, the affidavit said. Medina Carreto was identified as the driver and faces a $15,000 bail, the affidavit said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
July 6, 2011
Man charged in assault on taxi driver
A man has been charged after police say he assaulted a taxi driver, who suffers from a disability, during a drive along Interstate 35 last month, according to an arrest affidavit.
Dustin Christopher Rowden, 26, has been charged with injury to a disabled individual, a third-degree felony, after the June 10 altercation, the affidavit says. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The driver, Akbar Amin-Akbari, 64, walks with a cane due to a serious leg condition, the affidavit said.
Amin-Akbari said he was driving south on I-35 about 1 a.m. when Rowden yelled at him, pulled his hair and punched him several times during the 65 mph ride near the downtown area, the affidavit said.
Rowden also used a racial slur referring to the driver, who was from the Middle East, the affidavit said.
Rowden tried to take control of the steering wheel, but eventually the driver was able to exit at Oltorf Street and stop at a nearby gas station, the affidavit says. There, the assault continued and witnesses helped pull Rowden off the driver, the affidavit says.
Rowden was visibly intoxicated and charged with public intoxication after officers arrived at the scene, the affidavit said. He was booked on the new felony charge this morning. and his bail was set at $5,000, jail records show.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
April 29, 2011
Deputies investigate assault in Western Travis County
An early morning assault at a Western Travis County home left two people injured, including one person who suffered serious injuries and was taken by helicopter to a local hospital, an official said.
Travis County sheriff’s deputies were called shortly before 7 a.m. to the scene of the assault at a home in the 10200 block of Sandy Beach Road near Hamilton Pool Road, said sheriff’s spokesman Roger Wade. It appeared to be a family violence call, he said.
An 18-year-old male suspect had used some type of bludgeoning device to injure another male in the home, Wade said. That male victim, whose age was not immediately available, suffered serious injuries and was taken by STAR Flight helicopter to University Medical Center Brackenridge, he said.
A female, whose age was also not available and was also home at the time of the assault, tried to escape while holding her young child, Wade said. She injured herself while trying to escape, but the child did not suffer any injuries, he said. She was also taken to a nearby hospital, Wade said.
The 18-year-old was taken into custody without incident when deputies arrived, he said.
The Travis County sheriff’s office continues to investigate the incident, Wade said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
March 23, 2011
Suspect charged after 'sucker' punch leaves man in critical condition
Officials have charged a man with aggravated assault after they say he punched another man at the Austin Rodeo on Saturday, leaving the man in critical condition, according to an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit said Travis County sheriff’s deputies were called out to the Travis County Expo Center about 6:30 p.m. and found 54-year-old Bradley Byrant unconscious. Witnesses told deputies that Bryant and another man were involved in an altercation that ended with Gerald Shewmaker, 44, punching Bryant, the affidavit said.
“As Bryant turned to walk away, Shewmaker ‘sucker’ punched him one time knocking him to the ground,” according to the affidavit. It also said Shewmaker was tracked down at the Expo Center and arrested.
Bryant was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge, where he remains in critical condition. The affidavit says his brain continues to bleed and that while Bryant has regained consciousness, he cannot answer questions, according to the affidavit.
Shewmaker, pictured at right, remains in the Travis County Jail with bail set at $50,000. He is charged with felony aggravated assault with serious bodily injury and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
February 16, 2011
Three charged in altercation that injured three others
Three people have been charged in connection with an altercation Sunday that injured three others, including a 6-year-old boy and a teenager, according to several arrest affidavits.
Hector Esparza-Lagunes, 25, Mario Gonzalez Cuevas, 25, and Jessica Cuevas, 22, are all facing felony assault charges, the affidavits said.
According to the affidavit, a fight broke out about 3:30 a.m. Sunday at a party in an apartment parking lot on Sam Rayburn Drive near Interstate 35 and U.S. 183 in North Austin. The people involved in the fight left, the document said, but Esparza-Lagunes, Gonzalez Cuevas and Cuevas returned 30 minutes later.
Esparza-Lagunes was armed with a semi-automatic handgun and Mario Cuevas was armed with an assault rifle, the affidavit said.
Esparza-Lagunes kicked the door in of an apartment, hitting a 6-year-old boy in the face with the door, the affidavit said. Gonzalez punched another man at the scene, and Cuevas, who was waiting on the side of the apartment, cut a 15-year-old female on the neck with a broken beer bottle, the affidavit said.
All three were booked in Travis County jail as of Wednesday afternoon, jail records show. Cuevas faces $75,000 bail, Esparza-Lagunes faces $50,000 bail, and Gonzalez faces $20,000 bail, records show.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 28, 2010
Man charged in wreck that injured 8 people
Police have charged a 25-year-old man with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and four counts of intoxication assault in connection with a car wreck early Sunday, according to an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit says Juan Gutierrez-Tovar was driving a Ford Expedition with seven passengers on Pleasant Valley Road in Southeast Austin about 3 a.m. Several passengers in the car told police that Tovar was arguing with his girlfriend, who thought he was driving too fast, the affidavit said.
It said Tovar began jerking the wheel back and forth and lost control of the SUV, which collided with a utility pole before rolling over.
Four passengers sustained serious injuries, including broken femurs, fractured vertebrae and a ruptured bladder, the affidavit said. The others sustained minor injuries, it said.
Tovar agreed to a blood alcohol test while at University Medical Center Brackenridge, where he was being treated for a laceration on his forehead.
He remained in the Travis County Jail on Tuesday night with bail set at $120,000. Tovar faces up to 20 years in prison for each aggravated assault charge and 10 years in prison for each intoxication assault charge.
Tovar also has an immigration hold to determine his residency status, according to jail records.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 27, 2010
Two men attacked downtown
Austin police said they are investigating an incident in which two men said they were attacked early Sunday near the intersection of Fourth and Lavaca streets.
Bobby Beltran said he and his friend were hugging goodbye about 1:30 a.m. Sunday when a white sedan pulled up and the men inside yelled epithets at them.
“I told them their words were not accepted here in Austin, and that’s when they parked the car in the middle of the street,” Beltran said. “They all got out and attacked us.”
Beltran said he and his friend tried to fight the attackers off, and that none of the 20 to 30 witnesses stopped to help.
Beltran said he suffered a black eye and some bruising. He said his friend also had minor injuries.
Any witnesses to the incident can call the Austin Police Department at 974-5000.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 11, 2010
Reported kidnapping in Killeen
KILLEEN POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
December 11, 2010
On Friday, December 10, 2010 at approximately 7:00 a.m., Killeen Patrol officers responded to the area of York Avenue and Murphy Street in reference to a reported kidnapping.
Upon their arrival, they were advised that 9-year old girl walking to the school bus stop was abducted by a light-skinned possibly white or Hispanic male driving a dark sedan. The victim was later located in the area of Maxdale and Reece Creek Road and it was confirmed a kidnapping and assault had occurred.
As the investigation continues, detectives have revealed further information regarding the suspect and the vehicle used in this kidnapping.
The suspect is described as a light skinned, possibly Hispanic, male with a slightly rough complexion; he may have an accent. He has medium to dark colored hair that is in a short buzz cut style and a slim build. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a military ACU tan digitized combat uniform.
Although vehicle descriptions have varied slightly, the detectives have identified a vehicle make and model of interest: a newer model Scion tC 2door, possibly metallic purple or dark maroon in color. It should be understood that this type of paint will appear to be slightly different in color depending on the lighting.
Detectives are asking anyone with information about this kidnapping to call Crime Stoppers at 526-TIPS (8477), or go online at www.killeencrimestoppers.com or text a tip to KILLEEN plus the tip to CRIMES (274637). All information is confidential and if the tip results in the arrest of the suspect responsible for this crime, you could receive a reward up to $1000 in cash.
Carroll Smith
Public Information
Killeen Police Department
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 19, 2010
Police seek suspect who abducted, assaulted 11-year-old
FROM THE KILLEEN POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Killeen Police are investigating the abduction and assault of an 11 year old female that occurred this morning, Monday, October 18, 2010.
Officers responded to a 911 call after being told that an 11 year old female was walking to the bus stop at approximately 6:30am, when she was abducted in the 1100 block of Duncan by a skinny white male; he was approximately 20 years old with a buzz haircut, and forced into a small black two door car. The suspect assaulted the female at another location and released her near the area where she was abducted.
Detectives are asking anyone who may have seen a suspicious vehicle in the areas of 18th St., Duncan Ave, Stewart or Alexander St. that resembles this vehicle or suspect to call the Killeen Police Department at 254-200-7904 or call Crime Stoppers at 526-TIPS (8477). You may also go online at www.killeencrimestoppers.com or text information to KILLEEN with the tip to CRIMES (274637). All information is kept confidential.
The Killeen Police Department and the Killeen Independent School District are working closely together on this case as it continues to be investigated. Information will be released as it becomes available.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
Police seek suspect who abducted, assaulted 11-year-old
FROM THE KILLEEN POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Killeen Police are investigating the abduction and assault of an 11 year old female that occurred this morning, Monday, October 18, 2010.
Officers responded to a 911 call after being told that an 11 year old female was walking to the bus stop at approximately 6:30am, when she was abducted in the 1100 block of Duncan by a skinny white male; he was approximately 20 years old with a buzz haircut, and forced into a small black two door car. The suspect assaulted the female at another location and released her near the area where she was abducted.
Detectives are asking anyone who may have seen a suspicious vehicle in the areas of 18th St., Duncan Ave, Stewart or Alexander St. that resembles this vehicle or suspect to call the Killeen Police Department at 254-200-7904 or call Crime Stoppers at 526-TIPS (8477). You may also go online at www.killeencrimestoppers.com or text information to KILLEEN with the tip to CRIMES (274637). All information is kept confidential.
The Killeen Police Department and the Killeen Independent School District are working closely together on this case as it continues to be investigated. Information will be released as it becomes available.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
August 19, 2010
Temple woman charged with aggrevated assault after man found stabbed
FROM THE TEMPLE POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Early this morning at about 3:20 am, Temple Police responded to “Little Manhattan Café,” 311 South MLK Drive, in reference to a stabbing that just occurred. The café has rooms above it, on the second floor, which are rented out by the owner. Officers arrived and found the adult male victim outside, bleeding from several stab wounds. He was taken by ambulance to Scott and White Hospital, with what are considered to be non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers learned the victim had been in an argument with his girlfriend when she allegedly assaulted him with a knife, stabbing him several times about his upper body.
Officers located the suspect hiding in the building, and arrested her without incident. The knife used in the assault was recovered.
The Temple Police Department General Investigations Unit arrived a short time later, and processed the scene for evidence.
The suspect is the Bell County Jail, charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. She is identified as Jasmine Wilson, a 24-year-old Temple woman.
This case will be reviewed later today with the Bell County District Attorney’s Office, and bond will be set thereafter.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
July 27, 2010
Police looking for attempted sexual assault suspect
Austin police are looking for a man who broke into the apartment of a 16-year-old on July 20 and attempted to rape her.
Police said a man forced his way into the apartment located in the 7900 block of San Felipe Boulevard, near Pond Springs Road and McNeil Drive, about 10:20 a.m. and tried to sexually assault her. He then punched her in the face and left her apartment with her cell phone, police said.
The man could be driving a maroon four-door Acura MDX, police said. Two composite sketches of the suspect are pictured at right.
Police described the suspect as a light-skinned overweight Hispanic male; about 5 feet, 5 inches and a heavy Spanish accent.
He faces felony charges of attempted sexual assault of a child.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the child abuse unit at 974-8694.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
June 13, 2010
Man charged in road rage incident
Police have arrested and charged a man who they say became angry at a group of motorcyclists and pointed a gun at them while at a stop light in Southwest Austin on Friday, according to an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit said a group of motorcyclists had been passing traffic on the left shoulder of a highway, and 55-year-old Chuck Tinney pulled up very close to them in a Ford Explorer in the 6400 block of U.S. 290.
Witnesses told police they saw a few of the motorcyclists and Tinney yelling at each other through several light cycles at U.S. 290 and William Cannon Drive, the affidavit said. It also said at one point, Tinney opened the door of his vehicle and pointed a large revolver at the group. He drove off when the light turned green, it said.
Several people saw what happened and called police. One of the motorcyclists was an off-duty Dallas police officer, the affidavit said. When Tinney was pulled over further down 290, a .357 magnum was found on the passenger’s seat.
Tinney was charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He was released from the Travis County Jail after posting $10,000 bail.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
March 29, 2010
Leander man accused of sexually assaulting 15-year-old girl
An arrest affidavit made available Monday provides details in a case of a Leander man arrested Friday and charged with sexual assault of a child.
Octarius Fitzjohn Wilson, 32, was charged last week with the second degree felony punishable with up to 20 years in prison. He is being held in the Williamson County Jail with bail set at $80,000, according to court records.
Police say Wilson was caught sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in his car after a party in Georgetown on March 20, according to the affidavit.
The arrest came after Georgetown police sent out an alert Thursday informing the public to be on the lookout for Wilson.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
March 15, 2010
Six arrested in connection with Saturday assault
Six men have been arrested following the beating of three other men Saturday morning in East Austin, police said, although a motive was not yet known.
The affidavit says police responded to a gun disturbance call about 4:40 a.m. in the 6200 block of Thurgood Avenue, where the three victims were sitting in a yard.
The victims told police that three cars had stopped and that more than a dozen men got out and began beating them for no apparent reason, according to the affidavit. The suspects used their hands, a broken bottle and a brick to beat the victims, the affidavit says. The men sustained injuries, but none was life-threatening, according to police.
One of the victims was robbed of a phone and sweater before two gun shots were fired, according to the affidavit, prompting one of the victim’s mother to look outside and call 911.
The victims gave police descriptions of the suspects and the cars, the affidavit says. It also says police found two .45 caliber shells in the street.
While police were talking to the victims, they saw a car matching one of the descriptions drive by twice, the affidavit says. Police stopped the car, the document says, and arrested five people: Eduardo Estrada, 19, Henry Allison, 21, Andrew Allison, 20, Jorge Cebrian, 28, and Javier Medina, 17.
As police were arresting the five men, another car seen by the victims drove by and also was stopped by police, the affidavit says. Several suspects were detained but the victims could only identify Jorge Simentales, 21, according to the affidavit.
The men face felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
March 2, 2010
Man arrested in connection with Sunday shootings
A 17-year-old documented gang member has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a pair of shootings Sunday in Southeast Austin, court documents show.
Javier Enrique Ronces, also known as “Pinky,” is accused of driving a car that was involved in shootings that happened about 1:30 p.m. at an apartment at 2401 Lake Shore Boulevard and another at a nearby home in the 800 block of Vargas Road, an arrest affidavit filed today said.
One person was injured in the shooting and was taken to University Medical Center Brackenridge with serious injuries.
Witnesses told officers that Ronces drove up to them in a silver Pontiac Grand Am as they were standing in the parking lot of the apartments on Lake Shore Drive, the affidavit said. Witnesses said the car circled the parking lot and that shots were fired from the passenger side as it drove past, the document said.
No one was injured in that incident.
But a few minutes later, several people standing outside a home on Vargas Road told officers that a car matching the description of the one involved in the Lake Shore incident drove by them and that shots were fired from the passenger-side window, the document said.
A man, Michael Turner, was struck in the neck, the document said.
Ronces was arrested Monday and is in the Travis County Jail on $60,000 bail, records show.
Click on the icons in the map below.
View 0302shootings in a larger map
Permalink | Categories: Assault
February 25, 2010
Civic leaders rally against attack on gay men
UPDATE: Two Austin City Council members and the deputy director of Equality Texas spoke against hate crime at City Hall this afternoon following a reported attack on two gay men this past weekend.
The attack, which took place close to the underground parking garage at City Hall, has drawn attention since the victims reported their attackers used slurs related to their sexual orientation during the attack.
“This has to stop,” Chuck Smith, deputy director of Equality Texas, which advocates for gender-equality rights, said during Thursday’s press conference.
Both Shade and Morrison said while they are confident that Austin police are dedicating the necessary resources to investigate the matter, hate crime remains a real and alarming concern.
“I have every reason to believe to believe our police department will pursue this,” Shade said.
Hate crimes, however, are difficult to prosecute.
Since the 2001 James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed, 1,800 hate crimes have been reported to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Smith said.
Of those, less than 12 have been prosecuted.
EARLIER: Austin City Council Members Randi Shade and Laura Morrison will join members of Equality Texas at noon at City Hall to speak against an attack against two gay men in downtown Austin early Saturday.
Matt Morgan and Emmanuel Winston were walking to their vehicle parked at the underground City Hall garage when they were attacked by four men uttering slurs about their sexual orientation, Winston said Thursday.
“They attacked us from behind. They took nothing and uttered the slurs,” Winston said. “I was really shocked there could be a hate crime in Austin. I kept thinking, it’s 2010.”
Winston said he and Morgan were walking from Oilcan Harry’s nightclub after celebrating “Jersey Night,” the annual kick off to Softball Austin’s new season, and they were both wearing their “Shady Ladies” jerseys when the men attacked them.
Winston said they were close to the underground garage at Lavaca and Second streets when they were attacked.
Both Winston and Morgan were able to get the attackers off of them, who left running and uttering the slurs, Winston said.
At 2 p.m. on Saturday, Morgan and Winston will join other supporters for an “Austin March Against Hate” to call attention to the attack by retracing their steps early Saturday morning by marching from Oilcan Harry’s at 211 West 4th St. to City Hall.
City officials will likely be in attendance, Winston said.
“It is upsetting when anyone in our community is assaulted. It threatens the feeling of safety of our entire community,” Shade, who is openly gay, said in statement about the Equality Texas press conference. “We in the LGBT community are fortunate to live in Austin, a community known for being gay friendly, and I am confident that APD will do everything in its power to investigate this crime and ensure that justice is served.”
Austin police Sgt. Keith Bazzle said Thursday that police were called to the scene by a witness who saw the fight early Saturday morning and that the matter remains under investigation.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
February 3, 2010
Man arrested, charged with assault
Pflugerville police officers Tuesday evening arrested a man they said beat a woman outside of Blackhawk Convenience Store and rammed his car into a truck with a child inside, according to an arrest affidavit.
Ryan Kyle, 24, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and assault causing bodily injury. Bail is set at $76,500.
Witnesses told police that Kyle shoved a female clerk to the floor and punched her repeatedly when she asked him to leave the store, at 20205 A FM 685, the affidavit said.
David Richard, 40, pulled his truck up behind Kyle’s car to stop him from leaving. Kyle backed into the truck while Richard’s daughter was inside, the affidavit said.
Witnesses told police that Kyle yelled “white power!” during the assault, the affidavit said. Richard is African American, police officials said.
Police officers arrested Kyle at his home.
Officials said there were no serious injuries resulting from the assaults.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
February 2, 2010
Two men wanted in East Austin beating
Police are searching for two men in connection with an East Austin assault Jan. 20 that sent one man to the hospital.
According to an arrest affidavit: The victim, 23-year-old Diego Lopez, and his two brothers were inside at the Hook ‘Em Up Tire Shop at 5936 Westminster Drive when the trio saw Juan Barrientos, 19, and Edgar Gamez Rodriguez, 22, in a car with a pistol.
Police said the five men knew each other, but would not go into detail about the relationship.
As Lopez and his brothers exited the store, Barrientos approached and pointed a semi-automatic pistol at Lopez, the affidavit said.
Lopez urged Barrientos to fight him physically. Barrientos responded by knocking Lopez to the ground and kicking him several times.
Lopez’s brothers were threatened with the pistol when they went to call police. Barrientos and Rodriguez fled before police could arrive.
The victim was treated for a bloody nose, bruising on his head and a swollen face at St. David’s Hospital.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 29, 2009
Suspects sought in East Austin shooting
In an effort to learn what prompted a fight that led to a shooting, Austin police detectives today were hoping to interview two men whose wounds were treated early this morning at University Medical Center Brackenridge.
The identities of the victims and the extent of their injuries were not available at 12:55 p.m. today, Officer Veneza Aguinaga said. Aguinaga described the wounds as not life-threatening.
Police responded to a call at 3:18 a.m. today at an apartment complex at 2306 Wickersham Lane in East Austin, Aguinaga said. She said several people were involved in an argument when one of the men pulled a handgun and fired at least twice.
Investigators are hoping the victims can identify their assailant and can provide the reason for an argument that escalated into fisticuffs before the shooting, Aguinaga said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 24, 2009
Police report says child got knife for father during assault
Richard Morris Franklin Powell, 26, is accused of choking his girlfriend before threatening her with a knife in a South Austin apartment.
Powell asked his son to fetch him the three- to four-inch kitchen knife and then told the child to go back to the living room and watch TV, according to an arrest affidavit from the Austin Police Department. The child’s age is not listed in the affidavit.
Powell was booked into the Travis County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The fight between Powell and his girlfriend Tuesday morning escalated during a conversation about their relationship, according to the police report. The victim told police that Powell put his hand around her neck while she was lying on a bed.
Powell then asked his son to get him a knife, the affidavit said. Powell held the knife over her and said, “I could kill you right now,” causing her to fear for her life, according to the affidavit.
When Powell went outside to smoke a cigarette, the victim dialed 911 and ran to a friend’s apartment nearby.
According to the police report, Powell’s explanation of the assault was “evasive” and he said there was never a knife involved in their “tussle.” The affidavit said she had visible scratches and marks on her neck.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 20, 2009
Burnet County man charged with shooting woman
Investigators arrested a Burnet County man Friday and accused him of shooting a woman in the head through a window.
About 2 a.m., according to the Burnet County Sheriff’s Department, 19-year-old Vinson Cowan came up to the window of a house in the Deer Springs neighborhood and aimed a long-barrel rifle at a woman sleeping inside. He fired a shot, striking her in the head and narrowly missing the two children sleeping beside her.
The woman was released from a Round Rock hospital later that day, officials said.
Investigators said interviews with witnesses led them to arrest Cowan. He is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; he remains in custody at the Burnet County Jail. Officials did not mention a bail amount.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 14, 2009
Bee Cave PD: Gun, wine wielding woman charged in assault
A 46-year-old Wimberley woman, upset with the handling of her investments and carrying an open bottle of wine, pulled a handgun on two employees of Triton Financial, 12117 Bee Caves Road on Friday, according to an arrest affidavit.
Employees were able to get the handgun away from Christine Ramsey Cayton as she tried to open a box of ammunition, according to the affidavit, which was filed today. Bee Cave police officers charged Christine Ramsey Cayton with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second degree felony.
According to the affidavit:
Cayton came into Triton Financial and knocked loudly on the door of an office in which two employees were meeting. The employees said Cayton carried a glass of wine and her purse in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.
Cayton complained that she had been treated badly by the company and said she would not leave until the business returned $125,000 to her. As the employees tried to coax her into a conference room to discuss her displeasure, Cayton pulled a black handgun from her purse, pointed it at one of the workers and said she wanted her money now.
When Cayton put the gun on a desk to fish a box of bullets out of her purse, one worker grabbed the handgun and the other grabbed Cayton and held her in a conference room until Bee Cave police officers arrived.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
December 9, 2009
Ding dong showdown
A 40-year-old Austin man responded to a child’s prank by drawing down on pre-teenage boys with a semi-automatic rifle, according to arrest affidavits filed in Williamson County.
Richard Yax was taken to the Williamson County Jail and charged with aggravated assault and possession of a prohibited weapon, both felonies. He made bail, which was set at $30,000.
Austin police responded to a disturbance call placed by the family of one of the boys at 8:40 p.m. Friday in a neighborhood on the east side of the Avery Ranch Golf Club, the affidavits said.
Three boys, the oldest of them 12, told police they had been ringing the doorbells of neighbors and running away. The boy who rang the doorbell at Yax’ home in the 16400 block of Broadbay Drive told police that he heard what sounded like a rifle being bolted, just on the other side of the front door, the affidavit said.
A man, later identified as Yax and carrying what appeared to the boys to be a semi-automatic rifle, stepped onto the porch, the affidavit said. Yax looked around, walked back into the house and closed the door behind him, the boys told police.
As the boys ran from their hiding places, one of them noticed a woman step outside and point to them as they were running, the affidavit said. Yax came out of the house again with the rifle, running after the boys until catching up with them in the Broadbay Cove cul-de-sac.
Yax told the boys they had five minutes to return to his house with an apology for waking his family, they told police. Yax drew the muzzle of the gun to five or six inches from the head of one of the boys and said “I’ll put a ———- hole in your head,” according to the affidavit. The boy said he could see that the rifle had no magazine in its well, but did not know if there was a bullet in the chamber, the affidavit said.
Yax then walked away, and the boys ran to tell a parent who was hosting a sleepover. The parent called police.
Officers arriving at Yax’s front door found a handwritten sign taped to it warning not to ring the doorbell again and to go home. Yax told police that he had caught up with boys who had rung his doorbell six or eight times and demanded they apologize to his family. Yax did not mention a weapon, the affidavit said.
When pressed, Yax said he said he had been carrying an airsoft gun, the affidavit said. Yax allowed the officers into his house where they found an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in the study and, on a table next to the door, a magazine fully loaded with armor piercing bullets, which are probited by state law, the affidavit said.
Yax told police that he had grabbed the rifle because he feared for his safety. Officers asked why, if that was so, he chose not to put in the magazine, the affidavit said. Yax had no response, the affidavit said.
Yax denied pointing the rifle at anyone’s head and threatening to shoot, the affidavit said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 31, 2009
Man stabs his brother at annual Halloween party
Georgetown police said today that a 20-year-old man was arrested after he stabbed his brother “multiple times in the chest” after the family’s annual Halloween party “turned ugly.”
Lt. Gary Terbush, a spokesman for the Georgetown Police Department, said that the two brothers, believed to be under the influence of alcohol and drugs, started fighting Saturday morning around 12:15 a.m. in the Quail Valley area of Georgetown. Terbush said that Jeffrey Allen Epperson stabbed his brother in the chest and tried to leave, but police officers arrested him before he could flee.
The 22-year-old victim was taken to University Medical Center at Brackenridge Hospital this morning with non-life threatening injuries, Terbush said. Epperson was arrested by police and is being held at the Williamson County Jail on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Terbush said Epperson’s bail amount had not been set.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 29, 2009
Man charged with assaulting Lakeway officer
A Lakeway man has been charged with assaulting an off duty Lakeway Police officer who was trying to stop an assault of a woman.
Jesus Jimenez, 20, was in the Travis County Jail today on the two felony charges after Lakeway officers arrested him Wednesday night at his home. Officers identified Jimenez as an employee of Chicken Express at 2109 RR 620 South, where the assault on the officer took place, according to affidavits filed today.
The off duty officer responded to a woman screaming in the back seat of a car in the Chicken Express parking lot, the affidavits said. When the officer pulled the suspect off of the woman, identified himself as a police officer and attempted to handcuff him, the suspect hit the officer several times in the head, the affidavits said.
The officer drew his service pistol and ordered the suspect to lie on the ground. The suspect, instead, got into the car, followed by the woman and the two drove away, the affidavits said.
Investigating officers found the suspect’s address in the employee file of Chicken Express, the affidavits said.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 27, 2009
Man charged in attack on officer, nurse
Police say a man found wandering in traffic after midnight Monday on Sixth Street attacked an officer who found him on the street and an examining nurse at the Travis County Jail.
Elroy Smith, 32, was held on $45,000 bail on charges of assault on a peace officer and retaliation, according to an arrest affidavit filed today.
The officer took Smith into custody shortly before 1 a.m. in the 300 block of East Sixth Street because it appeared that he was under the influence of a narcotic, the affidavit said.
The man became verbally abusive in the squad car on the way to jail, the document said. During an interview at the jail, the suspect lunged at the nurse, grabbing the keyboard of her computer, it said. When the officer intervened, the suspect punched the officer in the face, according to the affidavit.
Permalink | Categories: Assault
October 15, 2009
Police: Driver runs over woman during child-safety squabble
A shopper confronted in a parking lot by a woman who noticed a child in her car with the engine running and the windows rolled up drove into the woman and carried her on top of the trunk in an effort to flee, police say.
Ashley Walker, 20, was held Thursday in the Travis County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, in connection with the incident on July 27 in the parking lot of H-E-B at 600 William Cannon Dr., according to the arrest affidavit filed Thursday.
A woman pulled into the parking lot next to a running car. The woman noticed a sleeping child in a car seat in the back of the car with its windows rolled tight on a hot day, the affidavit said.
The woman tried in vain to locate the owner of the car in the store and called 911, the affidavit said. When Walker came out to the car about 10 minutes later, the woman told her she had called police and told Walker to wait because she had broken the law, the affidavit said.
Walker got in the car and backed into the woman’s legs causing her to fall on top of the trunk of the car, according to the document. The woman hung onto the trunk as the car gained speed and the driver began weaving the car left and right, the affidavit said.
A witness told police that Walker yelled at the woman, “Get off my car or I’m gonna get you off,” the affidavit said.
The woman was thrown to the pavement when Walker accelerated quickly from a stop sign in the parking lot and drove away. The woman told police she did not need medical attention but suffered neck and back pain, the affidavit said.
