A 30-year-old Flower Mound man is being held in Denton County Jail on $230,000 bond after Lewisville and Flower Mound police coordinated to arrest him on eight charges stemming from a violent attack on his girlfriend.
Jesus Alberto Rodriguez-Arroyo was booked into the jail Tuesday, Aug. 11, after Flower Mound officers stopped him near his residence and Lewisville officers took him into custody, according to a Cross Timbers Gazette report citing police records. He is also being held on an ICE detainer.
The charges stem from an attack that began around 2:50 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, at the Avery Apartments in Lewisville, where the victim and Rodriguez-Arroyo had been in a relationship for approximately three months.
What police say happened
According to investigators, Rodriguez-Arroyo became angry after the victim declined to let him look through her phone. He left the apartment but returned shortly after 3 a.m., kicked in the back door, knocked the victim to the ground, dragged her across the bedroom and strangled her while demanding her phone password.
Rodriguez-Arroyo repeatedly struck the victim with a heavy handheld clothing steamer and its attached electric cord, causing injuries investigators described as severe to her face, body, thighs and knees. Investigators classified the steamer as a deadly weapon because it caused serious bodily injury.
He also threw the victim across the room near her child's bed, repeatedly kicked her in the head, threw glass vases and decorations at her and forced her into a bathroom where he cut her hair with a kitchen knife, according to the investigation.
During the attack, Rodriguez-Arroyo accessed the victim's phone, found intimate videos of the victim with a previous boyfriend, sent those videos to himself and threatened to send them to the victim's family if she contacted police.
He also stole the victim's car and fled the scene. The car was reported stolen around midnight, and Rodriguez-Arroyo allegedly posted the vehicle for sale on social media to recoup money he claimed to have spent during the relationship.
Multi-agency arrest
The victim called 911 on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 9. Lewisville officers responded around 11:34 p.m. to the Avery Apartments and found the victim with visible injuries described as severe. Lewisville Fire Department tended to the victim while officers investigated a scene littered with broken glass, doors, televisions, furniture, perfume bottles and kitchen knives, the Gazette reported.
After officers could not locate Rodriguez-Arroyo in Lewisville, Lewisville Police Department called in Flower Mound PD to establish surveillance near the suspect's Flower Mound residence.
Flower Mound officers pulled Rodriguez-Arroyo over when he attempted to drive away in his personal vehicle, which officers observed had window tint darker than the 20% allowed under Texas law. Lewisville officers then took him into custody without further incident.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Resources
Residents experiencing domestic violence can contact the Denton County Friends of the Family 24-hour crisis line at 1-800-572-4031 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
