A homeless man was arrested after he allegedly threatened to hit officers with his guitar and pushed officers with it.
Ruben Escobeda, 69, of Hobbs, was arrested on Aug. 19 and charged with battery upon a peace officer, a fourth-degree felony; resisting evading or obstructing an officer and concealing identity, both misdemeanors.
On Aug. 19, officers with the Hobbs Police Department responded to a business located at the 1300 block north Turner for an unwanted subject call.
When officers arrived at the business, the manager of the business told officers Escobeda was allegedly throwing things at her employees and she wanted to issue a criminal trespass against Escobeda.
“I (officers) made contact with Ruben but he only yelled at me and threatened to hit me with his guitar, please note he had a guitar in his lap and a bottle of alcohol next to him,” the report states. “He appeared to be heavily intoxicated. When Ruben spoke his speech was slurred and it looked as if he had thrown up several times.”
According to the report, when an officer went to retrieve a criminal trespass form, he saw another officer “out of the corner of (his) eye jerk back” and the officer was allegedly being “pushed by Ruben.”
“Ruben was using his guitar as a weapon and was attempting to push (officers) with it,” the report states. “I (officers) walked over to (the other officer) and grabbed Ruben from the rear.”
The report goes on to state Ruben was attempting to resist officers by “pulling away and using his guitar to push against officers. I (officers) then forced Ruben to the ground by grabbing both of his upper arms from the rear and forced him down to the ground gently.”
Escobeda is currently being held in the Lea County Detention Center on a $500 cash bond. He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 2 before Hobbs Magistrate Clipper Miller.
