Arturo Javier Gonzalez
San Juan police arrested a 32-year-old man on Aug. 26 for allegedly slapping two women on their buttocks and a third on her legs while they were exercising on the Bears Trail there that morning.
Arturo Javier Gonzalez, of San Juan, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of assault causing bodily injury.
San Juan police arrested the man last Wednesday.
The incident occurred at around 5:26 p.m. after the woman reported the assaults at the hike-and-bike trail.
One woman told police that Gonzalez approached her while she was jogging with another woman and slapped her on the buttocks, according to the probable cause affidavit, which said he then also slapped the other woman on her buttocks.
Both women reported they felt pain throughout the day.
Another woman running on the same trail said she saw Gonzalez walking toward her and noticed he wore jeans, which she noticed because most people on the trail wear “active clothing attire.” She found this suspicious, according to the affidavit.
She reported that Gonzalez struck her hard on her legs and that she felt pain throughout the day.
“As the group that was assaulted came together to call the police, they observed Arturo at the end of the trail,” the affidavit stated.
The boyfriend of one of the women was also on the trail and he told authorities that Gonzalez picked up two stones and threw them at him before charging at him to attack him, according to the affidavit.
On Sept. 14 at about 6:27 a.m., San Juan police responded to the same location for a report of a suspicious man wearing jeans and a white shirt, which prompted a concerned citizen to call the police.
One of the women from the Aug. 26 incident happened to be on the hike-and-bike trail, recognized Gonzalez and provided police with his description, resulting in the man’s arrest.
During an interview, police said Gonzalez confessed to slapping the women.
Gonzalez remains held in the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on a total of $70,000 in bonds.
