LOGAN — A 28-year-old Logan man is facing nine criminal charges, including a first-degree felony, following an alleged domestic dispute over child custody and money that turned violent in July, according to court documents filed Thursday.
Darwin Jesus Trujillo-Santos was charged Sept. 3 in Logan’s 1st District Court with aggravated burglary, child abuse with injury, two counts of assault, two counts of property damage, and three counts of committing domestic violence in the presence of a child.
According to a probable cause statement, Logan City police officers responded on July 18 to a domestic dispute involving Trujillo-Santos and his former partner. The woman told investigators that Trujillo-Santos arrived at her residence to give her money for expenses and pick up their 5-year-old daughter.
When Trujillo-Santos allegedly provided only $120 of an expected $200 payment, the woman refused to let him take their daughter and sent the child back inside. Prosecutors allege that Trujillo-Santos began insulting her, kicked the front door open, and entered the home. Once inside, he allegedly slapped the woman in the face as she attempted to keep the child away from him.
The woman’s husband and her 15-year-old son intervened to separate the two. During the physical altercation, Trujillo-Santos allegedly struck the teenager in the face—causing a bleeding lip—and hit the husband multiple times in the head.
Police reported that Trujillo-Santos then retrieved a small tire iron and damaged the husband’s vehicle, leaving visible damage on the front fender, passenger mirror, and window, before departing with his daughter. Officers noted that three children witnessed the altercation.
When interviewed by police, Trujillo-Santos claimed his former partner kicked him first when he followed her inside to reason with her. He admitted to swinging his arm toward her but denied making contact. He further claimed that the woman’s husband threatened him with a kitchen knife and damaged his own vehicle’s hood with a chopping motion, prompting Trujillo-Santos to grab the tire iron.
According to court records, Trujillo-Santos was not booked into jail. He was been ordered to appear before a judge Oct. 19.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.