By Lea Barrios
WOODLAND – A man was charged in a preliminary hearing with the infliction of corporal injury on a spouse after allegedly biting his wife’s cheek and lip during an argument about an affair.
The defendant, Jose Flores, and his wife went to a wedding where they drank and began arguing about an incident that happened at her business. His wife, the alleged victim, owns a gymnastics business and there is an employee who has allegedly stolen money from her business. The employee is said to not have been disciplined for this incident and the money had not been returned, and the defendant is said to have implied that the incident was treated lightly because she had an affair with the employee.
The couple allegedly left the wedding, the wife was driving home from the wedding reception when the argument continued in the car. The wife testified that her husband bit or tugged on her lip when they kissed and that it just got “extreme.” She said that they both had been drinking a lot and she took about six to seven shots of tequila and had some beers.
On the drive home, he got out of the car and started walking through a field. His wife became concerned because he had an injured knee and wasn’t supposed to be walking. She drove to her son’s home
and asked him to help her find the defendant. They began looking for the defendant and at some point ended up at an Arco gas station. The son and his wife were concerned after seeing her lip and cheek bleeding, and called the police when they were at the Arco.
The arriving officer, David Asaro, who works for the West Sacramento Police Department, interviewed the alleged victim about the incident. He testified that when he arrived he noticed her lip and cheek were bleeding. He said he has done many DUIs and did not believe she was intoxicated that day.
He recalled her telling him that night that her husband leaned into her ear to whisper something to the effect of “this is your fault, you made me do this,” then bit her cheek. He also said she indicated that she didn’t want this case to be prosecuted and later she filed a motion to dismiss the case.
Judge Paul Richardson reduced the charge to a misdemeanor and the defendant will be held to answer. He said that there was another incident where the defendant allegedly kicked a door in during a heated domestic argument, which might show a pattern in his behavior.
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