Parolee accused of assaulting woman at Tempe motel | Crime Files
TEMPE, Ariz. - An Arizona man is accused of committing multiple criminal offenses, court documents state, following an incident on Friday that left a woman injured.
Here are the details on what happened.
Who's the suspect?
Court documents identified the suspect in the case as 42-year-old Anthony James Trujillo.
This is reportedly not the not the first brush with the law for Trujillo: court documents listed prior arrests for Trujillo, but that section was redacted from the documents. At the time of the incident, Trujillo was on parole.
What is the suspect accused of doing?
Trujillo, according to police, was arrested on the night of Jan. 5 at a motel in the area of Broadway Road and Priest Drive.
Officers initially responded to the motel for a possible stabbing, and when they arrived, they contacted Trujillo, who accused the victim of attacking him with a knife.
The victim and Trujillo, according to investigators, knew each other. The victim was described as having "obvious injuries to her face and arms."
"The victim stated Trujillo had smoked methamphetamine earlier in the day, and began accusing her of ‘working with the Cartel to find him.’ Trujillo then made the victim open her eyes to ‘see if a device was planted' when Trujillo punched the victim in the face one time. The victim attempted to flee further into the motel room away from Trujillo, who took the victim's cellphone off a nightstand along with a folding box cutter. Trujillo demanded the victim show him her eyes again when he knocked her to the ground," wrote a portion of the court documents.
Trujillo, investigators allege, later punched the victim several times in the face, ribs and legs. The victim's wrists were also bitten as she tried to fight Trujillo off of her.
"Trujillo also held the folding box cutter with the blade open in his right hand and told the victim that ‘she was going to die tonight,'" court documents state. "Trujillo then placed both hands around the victim neck and applied pressure to the point the victim ‘felt her eyes roll into the back of her head’ and her vision ‘started to fade to black.’"
Investigators said the victim was able to break free. She tried to run to the door, but Trujillo allegedly blocked her exit. Trujillo then locked the door and used other means to block the exit. Afterwards, Trujillo allegedly beat the victim once again, as she tried to fight her way out from under him.
"The victim did advise that at some point during the assault, Trujillo pinned her face down on the bed and attempted to suffocate her by forcing her face into the mattress," read a portion of the court documents. "Trujillo was also telling the victim that he was ‘going to tie her hands behind her back, wrap her in toilet paper then set her on fire.’"
Eventually, court documents state the victim was able to escape, and call police.
What did the suspect tell police?
Investigators said Trujillo, during an interview that was done after he was read his Miranda rights, denied assaulting the victim, but did confirm he was "trying to look at her eyes."
What is the suspect accused of?
The suspect, according to court documents is accused of committing the following offenses:
- Aggravated Assault Resulting in Serious Physical Injury (A.R.S. 13-1204A1, a felony)
- Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon or Dangerous Instrument (A.R.S. 13-1204A2, a felony)
- Unlawful Imprisonment (A.R.S. 13-1303A, a felony)
- Refusal to Yield or Surrender Use of Party Line (A.R.S. 13-2915A1, a misdemeanor)
A judge has set a $10,000 cash-only bond for Trujillo. Should he make bond, he will be subjected to a number of restrictions, including electronic monitoring.