COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A man accused in a 2015 case of domestic violence in Coldwater has been taken into custody. 33-year old Vicente Yanez-Santa Maria, who now lives in Bronson, was arrested yesterday afternoon at the Branch County Courthouse and is expected to be arraigned today in District Court.
According to Coldwater City Police, the suspect attacked his wife on the night of December 21, 2015 in their residence at a trailer park in Coldwater. The police report on the alleged incident said Yanez-Santa Maria was upset his dinner wasn’t ready when he arrived home.
The report also said he pushed the victim down on a bed and punched her in the head. His wife stepped outside intending to call 9-1-1 but went back inside when she heard the couple’s baby crying. The husband then allegedly took a knife from the kitchen and put it up against the throat of the woman, who still managed to get a signal from her phone connected to 9-1-1.
Police said the suspect grabbed the phone from his wife and hung up but it was too late and a short time later, officers arrived at the trailer and arrested Santa Maria. Police say he was booked on preliminary charges of aggravated assault and obstructing a 9-1-1 call.
Details of when he was released from jail, why a warrant wasn’t signed until June 2016, and what led to his arrest yesterday were not immediately available from authorities.
