Man beat woman with skateboard and rifle and kept her in RV trailer, says deputies

IRWIN — A 32-year-old man was arrested Monday after police say he beat a woman and kept her hostage in a trailer.

Jorge Alberto Mendoza Minero is charged with felonies for attempted strangulation, domestic violence battery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and intimidating a witness.

According to a news release from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to an RV park in the 3400 block of Swan Valley Highway in Irwin just after noon to fight between people living in a trailer.

When deputies arrived, they identified Mendoza Minero as a suspect in the disturbance, they stopped him while he was trying to leave the park in his car.

During interviews with a female victim and Mendoza Minero, deputies were told that both had been living together for several months, and a physical fight began that morning.

Mendoza Minero reportedly told deputies they had been fighting over money for a while and admitted to throwing items out of the RV but not at the victim.

Mendoza Minero refused to answer when asked if the victim hit him or if he hit the victim at any time. Deputies learned from the victim that she allegedly woke up to Mendoza Minero punching her in the head and eventually putting both hands around her throat.

The victim also stated that Mendoza Minero bit her foot and struck her across the back with a skateboard before using the back end of a rifle to smash her foot.

The victim said she had been trying to leave the trailer, but Mendoza Minero refused to let her. At one point during the fight, the victim said, Mendoza Minero pointed the rifle at her, making threats to kill her if she called 911.

Deputies saw injuries to Mendoza Minero’s hands as well as multiple injuries to the victim, consistent with what she has reported.

A rifle was also found in the RV and was collected as evidence.

Mendoza Minero was placed under arrest and transported to the Bonneville County Jail, where he was booked on a $75,000 bond, and a no-contact order was issued for the victim.

He is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 25. If convicted, he could face up to 35 years in prison.

Though Mendoza Minero has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

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