Artesia firefighter charged with felony after firing gun during fight with wife
An Artesia firefighter was arrested Thursday night and charged with felony aggravated assault against a household member on Thursday, for an incident that happened on Feb. 25 where the firefighter allegedly fired a gun during a domestic dispute.
Mario Samaniego was arrested at about 7:23 p.m. Feb. 29 on a warrant issued by the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office which investigated the initial complaint last week.
Police said Samaniego drove to the home of his estranged wife and shot his gun at least once after a verbal argument ensued.
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Samaniego allegedly went to the home on Short Track Road in Eddy County after he said his wife did not show up to the Artesia Public Safety complex that night to pick up their children. The couple usually exchanges their children weekly Sunday nights at the complex, read a criminal complaint.
Police said Samaniego pulled into his wife’s yard and confronted her when he saw her with a new partner, then driving off, the complaint read. He then returned to the property minutes later after his wife’s partner was leaving and attempted to block the vehicle, the complaint read.
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The partner sped off and Samaniego told investigators his had was clipped by the rear-view mirror. Police said he also punched the partner’s car as the partner was leaving.
Police said Samaniego retrieved a gun from his vehicle and fired at least once during the conflict. When he fired, police said Samaniego was about 20 to 30 feet from his wife.
No one was injured, the complaint read.
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Another officer reported Samaniego told investigators he allegedly called his wife multiple times from the complex while trying to drop of the children, the complaint read. When he arrived, Samaniego told police he noticed several open containers of alcohol on the porch.
The argument between the parents started, Samaniego told police, over his allegation that his wife was intoxicated and was attempting to drive to the custody exchange.
He told police he fired once into the air after being clipped by the mirror. Police observed an injury to Samaniego’s right hand that was consistent with being hit by the mirror.
Samaniego made his initial appearance March 1 in Carlsbad Magistrate Court on a single charge of aggravated assault against a family member with a deadly weapon, a fourth-degree felony and was scheduled for a preliminary examination April 2 between Magistrate Judge Megan Fish. He entered no plea to the charge as of Monday.
Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.
This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Artesia firefighter arrested after firing gun during fight with wife
