SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Lillian A. Tenorio found probable cause to charge Janelle Abigail Palacios with assault with a dangerous weapon, aggravated assault and battery, and disturbing the peace.
Palacios, 32, is accused of attacking her boyfriend with a machete after finding him with another woman in his bedroom.
At the preliminary hearing on Oct. 9, Palacios was represented by Chief Public Defender Douglas Hartig while Assistant Attorney General Daniel Johnson and Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government.
During the hearing, Detective Jhaneeka Jewruelle Taitano Atalig of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Department of Public Safety testified before the court.
Palacios was ordered to return to the court for an arraignment on Oct. 21 at 9 a.m.
The incident
The victim told police that he and Palacios were dating, but in the early morning of Sept. 28, she caught him with another woman in his bedroom.
He said he and the other woman were “kind of” seeing each other.
He said Palacios started knocking on the door, but he did not want to open it. Palacios, however, knew how to open the door, the victim added.
He said the door didn’t have a doorknob, so he used a small machete to open it, which he usually left by the door.
When Palacios knocked louder, he noticed that she was trying to use the machete to open the door. He then went to the door and opened it.
He said Palacios saw the hickeys on his neck and the other woman in the bedroom, and got upset.
Palacios then swung the machete at him, but he used his right hand to block her from hitting his head.
The victim said he fell to the ground while Palacios and the other woman started fighting on top of him. Later, he separated the two women and told Palacios to leave. He said Palacios was panicking and called for an ambulance.
