FOR threatening to stab his ex-girlfriend with a knife and violating a restraining order, Franklin Patrick C. Cepeda was arrested by police last week.
Cepeda, 44, was charged with domestic violence: assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery, assault, disturbing the peace, and contempt.
On Monday, he appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho who imposed a $10,000 cash bail.
At the hearing, Cepeda was represented by Assistant Public Defender Karie Comstock while Assistant Attorney General Carmen Borja appeared for the government.
After the hearing, Judge Camacho remanded Cepeda to the custody of the Department of Corrections. Cepeda was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 16 at 10 a.m., and for an arraignment on Dec. 15 at 8:30 a.m.
Background information
On Nov. 4, 2022, around 1 p.m., the Department of Public Safety received a call regarding a contempt of court complaint.
The caller said her ex-boyfriend, Cepeda, violated his court order by coming to her apartment without her knowledge.
She said Cepeda “began spinning a knife with his left hand then asked her, ‘Do you want me to stab you?’” She said he also pushed her against the bathroom door twice while still holding the knife with his left hand.
The victim said she called 911.
When police approached a man outside Toha Supermarket who matched the description provided by the victim, he identified himself as “John Cepeda.”
Police said they found a knife in a plastic bag in Cepeda’s possession. He admitted that it was his knife, saying he “always carried a knife.”
According to police, the complainant later received a phone call from Corrections where Cepeda was detained.
She said on Nov. 5, Cepeda was “repeatedly messaging her, begging her to drop the complaint and forgive him.”
“I don’t want to deal with it anymore, I just want it to end,” she told police.
