Iron County resident charged with aggravated assault for threatening juvenile with a knife

Stock image | St. George News

CEDAR CITY – An Iron County resident was arrested on six warrants and several new charges Wednesday after a reported tussle with deputies, falsifying identity information and assaulting a female juvenile the day before.

The Iron County Sheriff’s Office arrested Juan Ivan Gaspar, 19, with a third-degree felony for aggravated assault and three class B misdemeanors for providing false information to a law enforcement officer, consumption of alcohol by a minor and interference with an arresting officer.

According to the charging documents, deputies responding to a possible incident between Gaspar and a female juvenile victim found the suspect asleep and smelling of alcohol. Gaspar told authorities his name was Freddy Gaspar and provided a birth date of March 22, 1996, both reported as false information.

The deputies placed Gaspar in the sheriff’s truck to begin interviewing other people at the scene when he “began to bang his head” on the window of the vehicle and tried kicking the window out, Deputy Matt Fox stated in the court documents.

Another deputy removed Gaspar from the truck at which time he allegedly began to try to pull away. Fox and Deputy Jay Sissener tried to put him back in the vehicle but he continued to push and pull away.

“After struggling with Juan for a few minutes trying to place him in the truck I did a show of force by sparking my Taser towards the ground,” Fox stated. “Juan lessened his struggle and Deputy Sissener and I were able to place him into the truck.”

The alleged victim met with deputies at the Iron County Sheriff’s Office and agreed to an interview regarding the events leading to the current investigation.

The victim told deputies Gaspar showed up at her house the day before at approximately 4 p.m. and allegedly started getting aggressive with her and punched her twice in the cheek. She then said the suspect took her into the bathroom but tripped and caught the shower curtain on his way down. The curtain bar struck the girl in the head.

A short time later the juvenile said Gaspar allegedly entered what she described as an “altered state of mind,” grabbing a black handled knife and rubbing it on her cheek in a threatening way.

The documents state Gaspar then dropped the knife, giving the victim a chance to pick it up and defend herself. He then allegedly kept asking her what she was doing with the knife and told her to drop it. The victim then stated she tried to call her mother but Gaspar took the phone away.

Gaspar then allegedly pushed her to the ground next to the TV and began to choke her before letting her go. She said she left the house and did not return.

Sheriff Deputies booked Gaspar into the Iron County Correctional Facility on $10,000 bail. He has since been indicted on the original charges.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @tracie_sullivan

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