Fight at a local bar results in one man’s arrest, victims allege he pulled a box cutter out during scuffle

IDAHO FALLS — A 31-year-old man was arrested after an incident at a local bar where the victim and witnesses allege he pulled out a box cutter and swung it at them during a fight.

According to court documents, on Oct. 3 at around midnight, at a bar on A Street in Idaho Falls, officers with the Idaho Falls Police Department were dispatched after a report was made of a fight involving two women and two men.

Once officers arrived, they found two women and a man, who had a small laceration on the back of his calf and blood spatter on his face, though no wound was found that contributed to how the blood got there.

One of the women is described in the court documents as being involved in the fight and as the victim’s family member.

Speaking with the three individuals, they told the officer that the suspect, later identified as Mariano Rodriguez, had gotten out of a vehicle and came at them with a knife and started slashing.

Talking with each of them separately, the victim said he was slapped earlier in the night by a woman, who wasn’t one of the ones involved in the fight with Rodriguez, and later on saw Rodriguez had stepped out of that woman’s vehicle before the fight started.

As the victim and Rodriguez fought, the victim’s family member joined in and later told officers she saw Rodriguez pull out a box cutter.

Wanting to prevent Rodriguez from stabbing or cutting the victim, the family member tried to restrain Rodriguez, but let go once he started hitting her and made a motion to stab her.

After letting go, Rodriguez got back into the vehicle and drove off.

Rodriguez was arrested on Oct. 8 while at the State Probation Office. There, his Miranda Rights were read to him, and according to the document, Rodriguez did not comment on the alleged incident at that time.

The officer reported that Rodriguez’s fingers were bandaged and believed that they were injured due to the fight. When asked about his fingers, Rodriguez refused to comment.

Rodriguez’s only statement was that he was innocent and had done nothing. However, at the Bonneville County Jail, he spoke about the incident.

The document states that he had heard that the woman had slapped the man who was involved in the fight, and that the woman had asked him to “back her up”.

When he was outside, Rodriguez claims that the man had attacked him first and that he was covering himself to protect himself. He also told the officer that he never pulled out a knife.

He also told the officers that he did not reach out to the police out of the belief that he would be automatically presumed guilty, because he was on parole.

The document notes that despite the conversation, Rodriguez never told the officers how his hand got cut.

Rodriguez was booked into the Bonneville County Jail, where he is facing two felony counts of aggravated assault, felony aggravated battery, and two misdemeanor counts of battery.

Rodriguez was charged last July with felony aggravated battery, felony possession of a controlled substance, and two misdemeanor counts for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, but these charges were dismissed without prejudice. Meaning that case can be refiled at a later date.

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He is currently scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. on Oct. 23 before Magistrate Judge John Dewey.

Rodriguez has been appointed a public defender. The Idaho State Public Defender’s Office does not comment on active cases.

Although Rodriguez has been accused of a crime, that does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.