By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A 65-year-old Del Rio man was arrested and charged with felony assault after allegedly threatening a member of his household with a knife.
Russell Linn Smith, 410 W. Third St., was arrested at his residence July 6 and charged with the offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon/family violence, a first-degree felony, according to police and court records.
In an incident report filed in the case, Del Rio Police Department Officer Karina Palacios reported she was dispatched to 410 W. Third St., at 6:55 p.m., on July 6 “to investigate a disturbance in progress.”
“I responded to 410 W. Third St., for a report of a male, identified as Russell Linn Smith, threatening the caller with a knife. Upon arrival, contact was made with (the male caller), who was standing outside of the residence waiting for police to arrive. The caller stated Smith was still inside of the residence with the caller’s mother,” Palacios wrote in the affidavit she filed in the case.
Palacios reported she entered the house and found Smith “sitting beside a knife and a half empty bottle of whiskey.”
She noted Smith smelled strongly of alcohol, and she asked him to step out of the house to speak with other officers on scene while she stayed inside to speak to the caller and the caller’s mother.
Palacios reported the caller’s mother said that her son and Smith had been arguing since 11 a.m. that day, and the argument escalated as Smith grew more intoxicated.
“(The caller) stated that around 1830 hours (6:30 p.m.), he sat down to watch TV in the living room, at which point Smith pulled out a knife and stated, ‘I’ll cut your … heart out,’ along with various other threats,” Palacios wrote.
She noted the caller was able to provide a recording he had made of Smith holding the knife and making the threats.
The caller told the officer after Smith threatened him with the knife, he went into his mother’s bedroom to get away from Smith, but claimed Smith followed him into the bedroom “and continued to make threats while holding a knife pointed toward (the caller).”
The caller claimed Smith cornered him between a wall and a dresser and held the knife pointed at the caller’s chest while continuing to make threats. The caller said he was able to phone police and get out of the house.
Palacios reported the caller’s mother, too, told police she “observed Smith making threats and pointing a knife at (her son).”
Palacios arrested Smith and charged him with felony assault.
Justice of the Peace Pct. 3 Pat Cole set a bond of $150,000 in the case.
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