La Mesa man arrested for allegedly threatening brother with a machete

Doa Ana County Sheriff’s investigators were called to the 300 block of Victoria Street in La Mesa after a man said his brother, who was reportedly intoxicated, threatened him with a machete, according to sheriff’s officials.

Doa Ana County Sheriff’s investigators said that just after midnight Thursday, Jimmy Guerra, 50, was celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with his brother when the two got into an argument over a ladder that was borrowed but never returned.

According to a report, Guerra fired a sawed-off shotgun into the air as part of his holiday celebrations. His brother was able to get the gun away from Guerra later on and threw it on the roof to keep it away from Guerra.

The brother then reportedly went to a nearby relative’s house to call the police and when he went back to the residence to check on his brother, Guerra had found a machete. The brother said Guerra then used the machete to threaten him.

Guerra allegedly broke several windows on the victim’s fifth-wheel recreational vehicle and punctured holes into the side panel of the trailer.

Deputies arrived and allegedly found Guerra holding two beers. The gun and machete were taken as evidence.

Guerra was arrested and taken to the Doa Ana County Detention Center, charged with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of criminal damage to property. All are fourth-degree felonies. Guerra was also charged with negligent use of a firearm while intoxicated and had an outstanding warrant for contempt of court after he failed to pay fines related to a previous aggravated DWI arrest.

Guerra had a cash bond of $850 on the arrest warrant and was booked on a $5,000 surety bond for the current charges.