Police: Man choked woman after quarrel over sleeping baby
New Mexico State Police arrested a Mora County man charged with false imprisonment and battery just hours after a warrant was issued.
John G. Vasquez, 27, was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center on Aug. 23 following a disturbance call at a home early that morning.
NMSP was called to a home in Guadalupita around 1 a.m. by a woman who stated Vasquez had taken her infant child. The woman later called back, telling dispatchers she no longer needed police assistance because she had gotten her child back, but police arrived soon after.
According to an arrest affidavit filed in Mora Magistrate Court, the woman had bruises on her forehead. She told police she and Vasquez had been drinking alcohol together earlier, and when Vasquez went to bed, he took the infant with him. She felt he was holding the baby too tightly, and when she attempted to remove the baby from the bed, they began to quarrel.
She told police Vasquez got out of bed and confronted her face-to-face before throwing her to the ground.
She said Vasquez climbed on top of her and began choking her. She was able to get away from him, but they continued to quarrel.
The woman told police she again attempted to pick the child up, and Vasquez threw her to the floor a second time, and again began to choke her.
She said she nearly blacked out, but was able to get away from Vasquez and remove the baby from the home.
Vasquez was not at the home when police arrived. Officers went to Vasquez’s nearby residence, but were unable to locate him, and a warrant for his arrest was issued.
However, police caught up with Vasquez just hours later and arrested him.
He has been charged with false imprisonment, a fourth-degree felony, and misdemeanor aggravated battery.
Vasquez was released from the San Miguel County Detention Center on Aug. 26 on a $5,000 unsecured bond and is scheduled to appear in Mora Magistrate Court at 9 a.m. on Oct. 2.
