
Photo: Reynaldo Ochoa
A Midway man who shot arrows at Baxter County deputies when they responded to a violent domestic disturbance call entered a guilty plea to the charges against him during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
Forty-eight-year-old Reynaldo Ochoa was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of terroristic threatening and fleeing.
He was sentenced to six years in prison. He will receive credit for the more than 600 days he spent in the Baxter County jail since his arrest.
On March 10 last year, deputies were summoned, after Ochoa kicked in the door of a home along State Highway 178 West, when a 74-year-old female refused him entry because he appeared to be intoxicated.
The woman said when Ochoa – who was identified as her step-nephew – arrived at her residence in an intoxicated state, she ordered him off the property.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Ochoa had been living in the home with his relative.
When he gained entry to the residence, Ochoa was alleged to have been verbally abusive. The victim said he followed her to her bedroom, where she retreated for her safety.
Once in the bedroom Ochoa was reported to have forced the victim down on the bed and hovered over her while continuing his obscenity-laced verbal tirade.
The victim was finally able to call 911 and talk briefly, before Ochoa grabbed the phone and disconnected the call.
Dispatchers at the 911 Center reported they were able to hear Ochoa yelling obscenities at the victim.
The victim could be heard telling Ochoa to “get away from me” numerous times before the call was cut off.
The 911 dispatchers reconnected the call, but Ochoa took control of the victim’s phone at that point and threatened that if “someone with a badge” was dispatched to the scene, he intended to shoot them with an arrow.
The two deputies who arrived on scene were alerted by dispatch that Ochoa had made the threats.
At one point, after the deputies arrived on scene, Ochoa told the 911 operator he had an arrow pointed at one of the deputies. They took cover behind a minivan parked in the yard.
Ochoa made good on his threats and fired two arrows at the deputies from about 85 feet away.
Both arrows were reported to have barely missed their targets. The first arrow stuck in the ground, after traveling almost 100 feet, and the second went about 123 feet, before hitting a decorative plywood figure in the front yard.
After firing the two arrows, Ochoa was reported to have fled into the woods.
A number of additional deputies responded to the scene, the sheriff’s office helicopter was launched and a dog team from the state prison at Calico Rock was requested.
The dog team picked up Ochoa’s trail and made contact with him in a wooded area near the residence.
Ochoa was armed with a compound bow and arrows.
The dog team members took Ochoa into custody. He was reported to have threatened to kill them as well.
At the time of the arrest, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said Ochoa had a lengthy criminal history in California, including arrests for making terroristic threats, battery on a peace officer, domestic violence and escape or attempted escape.
Since being arrested on the Baxter County charges, Ochoa underwent a psychological evaluation to determine if he was fit to proceed with his case and to be held criminally liable for his acts.
Since the case continued after the evaluation was received, it can be assumed he was found fit.
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