ST. GEORGE — A case against a Washington City man who was accused of beating a woman severely and locking her small child in the bathroom as he did so was dismissed during a hearing in St. George last week.
The defendant, 26-year-old Alberto Brambila, appeared before District Judge Jeffery C. Wilcox for a preliminary hearing held in 5th District Court on June 15 on two charges, including second-degree felony aggravated assault and third-degree felony domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Washington County prosecutor Ryan Shaum told St. George News that while the court proceeding that took place was scheduled as a preliminary hearing, when the state was unable to locate the victim, prosecutors were left with no other option than to dismiss the case. He said the state worked on the case for months, making a number of attempts to find the victim, but when they were unable to make any further contact, they moved to dismiss the charges.
Shaum said the state reached out to investigators, explaining that in some instances they can move forward with the evidence they have on a case such as this, but in this situation, they could not.
The charges stem from an incident reported Feb. 28 when officers responded to a domestic call at a residence in Washington City. Police found a woman with a fractured hand and multiple facial injuries, which authorities state she told them she incurred during an assault at her home.
According to statements obtained during the investigation, Brambila entered the woman’s residence and took her cell phone and then started punching her in the face with a closed fist. He then struck her with a large rubber exercise rope multiple times, the report states, adding that when she attempted to grab her small child and run, the suspect “threw the child in the bathroom and locked the door” and then continued assaulting the woman until she was able to escape the house and call police.
Brambila was arrested four days later and held in jail without bail, with police citing that the defendant “would constitute a substantial danger” to the reporting party.
This case is one of 14 criminal cases filed against the defendant since 2013, five of which involved assault charges and four of which are still open and making their way through the courts.
One open case against Brambila was filed in April 2020 involving felony witness tampering and misdemeanor criminal mischief. He has been under pretrial trial monitoring on that case since his arrest and has a series of violations, including one that was submitted following the alleged assault in March.
In that case, charges were filed following an incident that began when one of the suspect’s relatives was arrested for aggravated assault.
According to court documents, an officer booked the relative into jail and was writing up the report when he received a call from one of the witnesses in the arrest that their vehicle had been damaged and the car windows shattered. Surveillance footage later allegedly showed two men wearing masks throwing large rocks at two vehicles on the property, shattering the window in one of the cars.
Even though the suspects’ faces were partially concealed behind the masks, one of the men matched Brambila’s description, who officers learned was related to the person arrested hours earlier. He was arrested during a traffic stop months later, and the case was filed in court.
In another open assault case filed the previous month, the defendant was charged following an incident when officers were dispatched to a physical fight reportedly taking place in a vehicle parked along 840 East in St. George.
Officers arrived and found multiple people, including a small child, inside of the vehicle and a man standing outside of the car arguing. Through the course of the investigation, the report states, officers determined that Brambila was involved in an assault based on the facial injuries they observed on one of the women who was inside the car at the time, as well as witness statements obtained at the scene from bystanders.
Brambila is scheduled for a status hearing in that case on Aug. 24.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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