Dispute over dog ends with stabbing, SWAT standoff
Update (November 14, 2025): ABC-7 has obtained new court documents in the case of Mario Martinez, who is charged with aggravated assault.
Court documents state that the victim arrived at his house to find his wife arguing with Martinez. The victim told police that he and his wife had had a problem with Martinez's dog getting into their yard and acting aggressively. The victim then started arguing with Martinez, court documents state.
At some point, investigators say that Martinez hit the back of the victim's head with a rock, causing him to feel dazed. The pair started fighting, and the victim was able to get Martinez into a headlock, court documents state. Investigators say that Martinez's daughter tried to break the pair apart. That is when court documents say that Martinez used a box cutter to cut the victim's hand, causing him to release the headlock.
Court documents say that Martinez when back home, where the SWAT standoff started. He later surrendered.
When officers were speaking with Martinez afterward, they saw blood on his pants, court documents state.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Mario Martinez, 39, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a stabbing on Oxley Street Wednesday.
The alleged assault happened on the 700 block of Oxley Street in Far East El Paso County at 2:50 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
A spokesperson for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office says that Martinez ran away after the stabbing. He then barricaded himself into a nearby house, the spokesperson explained.
The Sheriff's Office had to call out its SWAT and Crisis Negotiation Teams to get Martinez out of the house. The Sheriff's Office spokesperson says that after a short standoff, Martinez surrendered to deputies, who then took him into custody without any further incident.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit has taken over control of the investigation.
Deputies booked Martinez into the El Paso County Jail without bond. He was then granted a $80,000 cash/surety bond. According to online jail records, Martinez remains in jail as of the publication of this article. Martinez was also booked on a number of traffic-related charges.
