Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Larry Vasquez, 58, was arrested for assault/domestic violence and pleaded guilty to the charge the very next day.
Suspect pleads guilty the following day
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – Sometimes Lady Justice takes her time to create a resolution; in the case of an attack on a woman who declined an older man’s sexual advances however, justice is swiftly occurring.
Larry J. Vasquez, 58, was arrested for assault/domestic violence and booked into the Graham County Jail on May 21. The following day, Vasquez appeared in front of Gila Valley Consolidated Court Judge Ned Rhodes, waived his right to a defense attorney and pleaded guilty to the charge of assault/domestic violence – a Class-1 misdemeanor. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Rhodes in the same courtroom Tuesday, June 4, at 1:45 p.m.
According to a Safford Police report, Vasquez is an admitted alcoholic who had fallen off the wagon and was experiencing blackouts. Vasquez also advised that he is a paranoid schizophrenic and hears voices.
On the day he was arrested, a woman had gone to the Emergency Room at Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center and reported Vasquez had assaulted her after she turned down his sexual advances. The victim is the girlfriend of Vasquez’s son and the couple was staying with Vasquez the last few days, according to the report.
The attack took place at Vasquez’s apartment in the 1900 block of S. 20th Avenue while Vasquez was intoxicated and was home alone with the victim. The suspect used a slang term for intercourse with the victim and when she spurned his advance he grabbed her by the arm and punched her in her ribs, according to the report.
The victim hid in a closet but was later physically assaulted again by the suspect when she tried to leave, according to her statements to police.
When the victim’s boyfriend returned to the apartment, he took the victim to the ER, pushing Vasquez out of the way on their way out of the residence.
The officer reported Vasquez’s conversation was disjointed and he used several slang terms to describe the victim and what he wanted to do to her sexually.
Vasquez was then booked into the jail and a mental health crisis associate responded to the facility to meet with him. The jail’s medical staff was also given a list of current medications Vasquez is taking, which was provided by a relative.
