21-year-old Carlos Nataren was seen publicly intoxicated and assaulting Ivan Almaraz at Motel 6 on Cartwright Street on August 18th. When officers arrived on the scene, they spoke with Almaraz, who stated that Nataren assaulted and threatened to kill him. When officers approached Nataren, he was holding a bottle of alcohol, behaving belligerently, and yelling. As a result, he was detained. After that, the officers tried to talk to Nataren, but he was too intoxicated to answer any questions. They then spoke with Almaraz, who explained that while he was with his girlfriend, Paulina Ortega, and her mother, Maria Belmont. He explained that their room was dirty when trying to check in and decided to switch to a different room. As Almaraz was standing on the second-floor walkway, Nataren allegedly approached him with a bottle of liquor and asked him to take shots. Almaraz informed officers, that he was uncomfortable and attempted to walk away. Despite this, Nataren grabbed Almaraz around the neck from behind and said, “Give me everything you got, or I will cut your head off.”
Almaraz stated that he then opened his wallet, and Nataren snatched the $16 he had out of his wallet. Almaraz advised that Nataren said to him, “That ain’t enough,” and handed the cash back to him. Nataren then stated, “We are the same race. I just need someone to talk to.” Officers then spoke with a bystander and witness, Michael Wanner, who stated that when he was walking around the corner, he saw Nataren and Almaraz. Wanner claimed that Nataren looked at him, grabbed Almaraz around the neck again, and said, “Do you have a gun? I am going to kill this guy.” Wanner then left the area to call the police. Almaraz then informed officers that this is when Nataren let him go and started punching him in the face and chest. As Nataren assaulted him, Almaraz was able to get free and told Belmont to call the police before separating himself from Nataren until the police arrived. Nataren was then deemed the primary aggressor and was taken into custody for assault, robbery, and public intoxication.