By Daniel Borunda
El Paso Times, Texas
EL PASO, Texas — El Paso police gang investigators arrested a convict accused in a menacing confrontation inside an East Side barbershop last fall.
A juvenile probation detention officer was getting a haircut Oct. 28 when he was allegedly confronted by Rogelio Dominguez, who allegedly acted as though he had a weapon, according to court documents.
Dominguez, 38, of Socorro, was arrested Dec. 26 on a charge of obstruction-retaliation against a public servant following an investigation by the Gang Unit, police said last week.
The encounter occurred while the 45-year-old detention officer was sitting down getting his weekly haircut at Mando’s Barber Shop on Lee Treviño Drive across from Hanks High School, according to a police complaint affidavit.
The officer was not identified by police and is not named in the complaint.
According to the complaint, witnesses told police that Dominguez was menacingly staring at the officer, got close to his face and in Spanish said, “I don’t give a (expletive) about the (expletive) cops.”
Dominguez kept repeating the phrase while allegedly placing his hand in a pocket, acting as though he was armed, the complaint states.
A witness also told police that the way that Dominguez was standing over the officer made it appear as though Dominguez was armed.
The complaint states that the officer took out a knife he had in his pocket in case Dominguez tried to attack him.
After the officer raised his voice, Dominguez took photos and video of him with his cellphone, documents state.
As other clients became alarmed, Dominguez exited the shop while making phone calls and pointing at the officer, documents state. The officer left the shop only after a police patrol car arrived and Dominguez was no longer in sight.
The officer told police that he had dealt with Dominguez on several previous occasions.
Dominguez was arrested, booked and released from the El Paso County Jail on Dec. 26 on a $7,500 bond, according to a jail log.
Court records show Dominguez has convictions on theft charges and has been arrested more than 25 times since 1996. He is scheduled to go on trial in March on a separate charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
©2018 the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas)