Town of Anthony, Texas mayor arrested for assault

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Romero as a victim in its headline.

UPDATE: The mayor of the Town of Anthony, Texas, Benjamin Romero, who was arrested on Sunday for alleged assault against a family member, appeared in the El Paso County Jail Magistrate Court Tuesday.

The Judge Magistrate ruled that Romero is to have no contact whatsoever with the victim, is not allowed to possess any weapons, firearms or ammunition during the pendency of this assault case, and not allowed to go near the victim's residency.

If Romero violates these terms, his bond will be taken away and he will return to jail.

Romero was arrested last summer for a similar charge, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

ANTHONY, Texas -- Jail records show Romero was arrested for alleged assault causing bodily injury to a family member on June 21, 2021. It is unclear what happened in that case or who that family member is.

ABC-7 also discovered a divorce filing involving Benjamin Romero and a partner that was agreed upon and signed on June 30, 2021, just nine days after the alleged assault.

The court docket for his 2021 criminal case shows he has a bond hearing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

The Town of Anthony mayor pro tem, Shawn Weeks, spoke to ABC-7 about the procedure the town council will take in regards to the recent criminal arrests of the town's mayor.

Weeks says the town council will either have a special meeting on Friday, or wait until their regularly scheduled meeting next Monday, to discuss the recent arrest and personnel matter. Weeks says the town council could vote to remove the mayor from his position at that meeting. Weeks also added, the mayor could step down from his position, or no action could be taken.

Weeks says the arrest "is concerning," but did not want to comment further until he learns more facts about the criminal arrests.

This crime took place in Canutillo, outside the jurisdiction of the Town of Anthony police department.
Stay with ABC-7 for more updates as this story develops.

Authorities say Benjamin Romero assaulted and injured his girlfriend in Canutillo on Sunday afternoon.

Police say deputies took 38-year-old Romero into custody and booked him into the El Paso County Detention Facility with a $10,000 bond on the charge of Continuing Family Violence.