A suspect charged with six felonies claims he was the victim of an attack perpetrated by his girlfriend’s three teenage daughters.
Jerry Torres, 22, of Cordova, and Paula Chavez, whose age is not listed in court documents, were arrested Nov. 1 after allegedly brawling with the three juveniles and one of their babies at Chavez’s Truchas home, court documents state.
Court documents tell the following story based on the daughters’ accounts of the incident:
The incident began when Torres and Chavez got in an argument with her 17-year-old daughter about the couple’s alleged drug use in the home. At one point, Chavez allegedly bit her daughter’s arm.
Then Chavez’s 15-year-old daughter walked into the room holding the 17-year-old’s infant daughter, and Chavez allegedly pushed her, almost making the girl drop the baby.
Torres then allegedly swung a small baseball bat at all of the daughters and pushed over Chavez’s 14-year-old girl daughter. The 15-year-old responded by hitting Torres in the face with a bottle, cutting his nose.
The fight escalated when the 17-year-old called Torres a name that questioned his toughness. Torres allegedly responded by pointing a .22 caliber gun at all four children, saying, “Get the (expletive) back before I shoot all of you.” Torres and Chavez then got a ride with Torres’ mother back to his Cordova home.
State Police officer Josh Ramirez arrested Chavez and Torres at Torres’ house and recovered a .380 handgun from Torres. They were booked at Rio Arriba County Jail.
Chavez was charged with one count of child abuse and Torres was charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of battery against a household member and four counts of child abuse, according to court documents.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Couleur dismissed Nov. 3 tthe following charges against Torres: one of the aggravated assault charges, two of the battery against a household member counts and one child abuse count.
Couleur said Monday that the charges could change once all the final reports are in, but based on the statement of probable cause alone, those other charges were dismissed.
Torres bonded out Nov. 6 after his family posted $3,000, or 20 percent, of his $15,000 bond.
Torres told a reporter Chavez was attempting to discipline one of the girls by taking away her cell phone when the three girls allegedly attacked him and Chavez.
He claimed they broke his nose, caused a hairline crack under his eye and a wound to his eyebrow. He said he kept his handgun in his holster during the entire incident.
Torres also claimed Ramirez assaulted him while he was at Española Hospital getting a medical clearance, hitting him three times behind the head.
“He’s all, ‘We don’t need pieces of (expletive) like you out on the street,’” Torres said.
Ramirez didn’t return a call for comment.