Washington City man with violent history arrested for alleged beating

Stock image | Photo by MattGush/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Washington City man is in jail on charges of severely beating a woman and locking her small child in the bathroom as he did so. It is one of several open cases recently filed against the suspect.

The arrest stems from an incident reported Feb. 28 when officers responded to a domestic call that took place at a residence in Washington City and arrived at a location nearby where they found a woman with a fractured hand and multiple facial injuries, which authorities state she told them she incurred during an assault at her home.

According to statements obtained during the investigation, the suspect, later identified as 26-year-old Alberto Brambila, entered the woman’s residence and took her cell phone and then started punching her in the face with a closed fist.

Minutes later, the suspect struck her with a large rubber exercise rope multiple times, the report states, adding that when she attempted to grab her small child and run, the suspect “threw the child in the bathroom and locked the door” and then continued assaulting the woman until she was able to escape the house and call police.

A search for the suspect came up empty until four days later when officers found him at a local gym. He was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility and faces third-degree felony aggravated assault and domestic violence serious injury. He also faces one count of damaging a cellular device, a misdemeanor.

Alberto Brambila booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, March 4, 2021 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News,

The recent arrest is one of five open cases filed against the suspect, one of which took place in April of last year when Brambila was charged with felony witness tampering and misdemeanor criminal mischief. The incident started with one of the suspect’s family members, a female relative who was arrested for aggravated assault.

According to court documents,  the officer booked the woman into jail and was writing up the report when he received a call from one of the witnesses in the arrest that their vehicle had been damaged and the car windows shattered.

Officers retrieved surveillance footage that allegedly showed two Latino men wearing COVID masks throwing large rocks at two vehicles on the property, shattering the window in one of the cars.

Even though the suspects’ faces were partially concealed behind the masks, one of the men matched Brambila’s description, who officers learned was also related to the woman arrested hours earlier.

An “attempt to locate” broadcast went out to all officers in St. George and the surrounding area and a search was conducted, but officers were unable to locate the suspect that night. During a traffic stop several months later Brambila was arrested and charged with felony retaliation against a witness and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Brambila had a run-in with police the prior month as well when police were dispatched to a physical fight reportedly taking place in a vehicle parked along 840 East in St. George.

Officers arrived and found multiple people, including a small child, inside of the vehicle and a man standing outside of the car arguing. Through the course of the investigation, the report states, officers determined that Brambila was involved in the assault based on the facial injuries they observed on one of the women who was inside the car at the time, as well as witness statements obtained at the scene from bystanders.

Brambila was booked into jail and is scheduled to appear for a resolution hearing March 30 on both cases.

Following Thursday’s arrest the officer requested that Brambila be held without bail, a request that was approved by District Judge Jeffrey C. Wilcox in an order signed Thursday evening citing the suspect “would constitute a substantial danger” to the reporting party in the case.

The suspect remains in custody at the writing of this report.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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