San Angelo man arrested for stalking ex-wife

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — A San Angelo man was arrested on May 21 after he allegedly stalked his ex-wife whom he had been accused of abusing in the past.

According to an affidavit, a San Angelo Police Department detective began investigating the case on May 6. During the investigation, the detective learned that the victim and 69-year-old Alfredo Cantu had been common-law married for approximately 32 years.

On Feb. 3, Cantu approached his spouse in a San Angelo residence and assaulted her by throwing water from a cup into her face. The victim advised that, during the assault, Cantu “mentioned to her that he hopes she dies from the breast cancer before he kills her.”

The couple began living separately on approximately March 11 following another incident that saw both Cantu and his wife arrested for injury to the elderly with intent to cause bodily injury. The victim told the detective that Cantu was sitting in the passenger side of her vehicle “when he forcibly grabbed her hair while she was driving, pulled her head down and punched her in the face,” causing her to strike in self-defense.

On March 15, officers responding to Shannon Medical Center regarding a harassment call learned that Cantu had repeatedly sent cell phone messages to the victim. The responding officers advised Cantu to discontinue contact with the victim, which Cantu acknowledged he would do.

Then, on April 17, officers responded to the victim’s residence to receive information. There, law enforcement learned from the victim that Cantu had been driving past her home multiple times.

A responding officer observed that Cantu’s vehicle, described as a gold Ford F-150 bearing temporary tags, was “in the area of the victim’s residence prior to his arrival to speak with the victim.” The officer documented that he had made contact with Cantu, who admitted to driving past the victim’s residence.

The affidavit then states that both the victim and Cantu were observed to be in court on April 17, where they received Agreed Temporary Orders signed by a district judge. The orders stated that “the victim and the Defendant are not allowed to communicate in person or in any
other manner including the telephone or another electronic voice transmission, video chat, in writing, or electronic messaging, by use of vulgar, profane, obscene, or indecent language or in a coarse or offensive manner, with intent to annoy or alarm the other party.”

On May 1, law enforcement was called to the victim’s friend’s residence regarding harassment. The detective learned that Cantu had driven past the home in a gold Ford F-150 before exiting the vehicle and attempting to speak with the victim.

Then, on May 2, officers responded to the victim’s residence for an unwanted subject call. The responding officer observed Cantu sitting in his vehicle, which was located a block away from the home and facing it. The officer documented that Cantu drove away when he arrived at the victim’s location and that Cantu was seen driving past the residence while he was speaking to the victim.

Officers would return to the residence for a second time that same day in regards to the victim seeing Cantu drive past her home, with home surveillance observed by the responding officer confirming this. The responding officer also “documented that she observed approximately 28 cellular phone text messages to the victim” that day.

Afterward, officers responded to the victim’s residence on May 14 in reference to a domestic disturbance. The responding officers documented that Cantu arrived at the home and began to knock on its windows. While investigating the incident, Cantu called the victim’s phone twice.

The responding officer would answer the phone on the victim’s behalf and inform Cantu that he was seen driving near the residence. The officer then issued a criminal trespass warning.

The detective spoke with the victim and learned that she observed Cantu parked in his vehicle near her employer on the morning of May 14. The victim allowed the detective to observe audio-equipped home surveillance as well, which showed Cantu “approach her residence door equipped with a locked gate yelling the victim’s name multiple times” that day. The victim then expressed to the detective that she was in fear of Cantu and “believes he is going to seriously injure her or cause her death.”

Cantu was arrested on May 21 for one charge of stalking and another charge of evading arrest. He was released on a $25,000 bond 10 hours later.

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