Judge finds probable cause to charge man in domestic violence case

SUPERIOR Court Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio has found probable cause to charge John B. Reyes Jr. with assault and battery, assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, and disturbing the peace.

Reyes, 46, is accused of injuring his wife while she was in the back of a pickup truck. Police said Reyes drove the truck at a high rate of speed, then slammed on the brakes, causing his wife to hit the metal portion of the truck and lose consciousness.

Reyes was scheduled to appear before Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja on Monday, Feb. 24, for an arraignment.

According to the complaint against Reyes, on Feb. 7, 2025, the Department of Public Safety received a call from a woman, who wanted to report a domestic violence incident that had occurred the previous week.

The victim showed responding police officers the bruises and scratches on her right arm and abdomen, according to the complaint.

She said that on Jan. 27, she and her husband, Reyes, got into an argument about money at their residence. She said Reyes kept asking her for gas money, but she refused because “he just got paid that morning.”

The woman said she went outside and sat in the back of Reyes’ pickup truck to “cool off.”

All of a sudden, she said, Reyes got into his truck and took off at a high rate of speed while she was still in the back. Reyes then slammed on the brakes, causing her to fly forward and hit the metal portion of the truck, she added.

She said she blacked out. When she came to, she started screaming, telling Reyes she was dying and begging him to take her to the hospital. She said Reyes promised to take her, but instead, he drove home. She also said that Reyes told her that if he took her to the hospital, he would “go to jail for a long time.”

On Feb. 10, 2025, the victim arrived at the Special Victims Investigations Unit office, appearing scared and frustrated, police said.

A detective wanted to conduct a follow-up interview, but the woman said she did not want to discuss it further and instead handed the officer a written statement.

According to her written statement, she did not go to work so she could recover from her injuries. A day or two later, she said Reyes held a machete to her neck, arms, and stomach while yelling, “You’re going to report me? I’ll kill you and kill myself!”

The victim told police that she feared for her and her son’s lives, as Reyes had done the same thing to her when they lived on the mainland U.S.