Standoff ends with suspect in custody on assault charges

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LEAL ADMITS ASSAULTING WIFE, FATHER-IN-LAW

A Pearsall man found himself behind bars early Sunday morning after he allegedly assaulted his wife and stabbed a man before barricading himself inside a home.

Pearsall police say emergency dispatchers confirmed that a man identified as 23-year-old Trinidad Leal was barricaded in his home on Garcia Street with a firearm.

Officers arrived at the residence shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday, February 19, but Leal reportedly refused to comply with demands to surrender but later agreed to come out of a room in which he had barricaded himself.

According to a report on the case, Leal allegedly admitted in a preliminary interview that he and his wife had begun arguing at a dance hall prior to the assault. The suspect then reportedly admitted to having physically assaulted his wife when the couple went home.

Police have also begun confirming details of further violence in the home.

“He told us he stabbed his father-in-law because he walked into the room and he believed that his father-in-law was going to assault him,” Police Chief Daniel Flores said of Leal’s statements.

A report on the case confirms Leal’s father-in-law was stabbed two times on the left side of his torso.

The injured man was transported to Frio Regional Hospital for his stab wounds but was later taken by ambulance to a San Antonio hospital for further treatment.

Leal was taken into custody at the Frio County Jail without further incident and faces a first-degree felony charge for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which carries a $40,000 bond; and a Class A misdemeanor charge for assault causing bodily injury of a family member, which carries a $3,500 bond. 

“The department would like to thank the Frio County Sheriff’s office for their assistance in this case,” the police chief said.

Records filed at the Frio County Jail show Leal was released on bonds Monday, Feb. 20.