A 35-year-old man was arrested after police say he threatened another man with a knife and stated he was going to stab him and cut his head off.
Erick Rios was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (family violence), a second-degree felony. He is also being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The reported assault happened around 2:44 a.m. Feb. 5 at the America’s Best Value Inn located at 3023 E. Highway 80, an Odessa Police Department probable cause affidavit stated.
When officers arrived Rios was sitting in the front passenger seat of a 2003 Dodge Ram and told police nothing had happened and everything was OK.
Officers made contact with the victim, identified as Essau Juarez, who stated that himself along with his co-worker including Rios had gone out drinking, the affidavit stated. Juarez stated when they arrived at the hotel room, which they all were staying at, Rios began cursing him out and getting aggressive with him.
Juarez told officers that while they argued Rios went to the kitchen, grabbed a dark knife and stated he was going to stab him and cut his head off. Juarez stated that Rios then walked outside with the knife and got into his cousin’s Dodge Ram.
A witness stated he saw Rios and Juarez arguing, the affidavit stated. The witness stated while they argued he saw Rios walk into the kitchen and grab a knife. The witness stated he saw when Rios tell Juarez that he was going to stab and cut his head off.
When officers searched the Dodge Ram, they say they found a knife with a gray handle between the front passenger seat and center console within arm’s reach of where Rios was observed to be seating upon initial contact, the affidavit stated.
Rios was booked into the Ector County Law Enforcement Center on Feb. 5, jail records show. He had one bond totaling $30,000 and was released to another agency on Feb. 9.
