Salinas Man Pleads No Contest to Stabbing Ex-Girlfriend, Assaulting Officer with a Deadly Weapon, and Using Daughter as a Human Shield after May 2025 Police Chase
arising from a May 16, 2025 incident where he stabbed his ex-girlfriend, threatened to kill a
relative, crashed a truck into a pursuing police vehicle, led officers on a high-speed chase, and used
his seven-year-old daughter as a human shield to avoid arrest. Villareal will receive a term of 20 years
and 4 months in state prison.
On May 16, 2025, Villareal went to the home of his ex-girlfriend, Jane Doe 1, who currently had
custody of his 7-year-old daughter, Jane Doe 2. Villareal and Jane Doe 1 argued about custody
issues. Jane Doe 1 agreed Villareal could take Jane Doe 2 to the park to play. Leaving Jane Doe 2 at
the park, Villareal returned to Jane Doe 1’s house, pushed her to the ground, and stabbed her once
in the neck with a folding knife. He attempted to stab Jane Doe 1 again, but she was able to block
the blade with her hand. At the time of the attack, Jane Doe 1 was on the phone with a female
relative of Villareal’s, who overheard the stabbing. Villareal then told the relative that he killed Jane
Doe 1 and was on his way to kill her and everyone in her house.
Villareal went to the relative’s home and banged on the door, demanding to be let inside. The
relative’s husband let him know that the police had been called. Villareal made the husband drive
Villareal away from the scene, pick up Jane Doe 2, and drive to Gonzales. On the way to Gonzales,
a California Highway Patrol officer pulled over the truck. The relative’s husband exited the truck,
but Villareal then got into the driver’s seat and began to drive away. Villareal crashed the truck into
the CHP officer’s car twice, nearly hitting her as she stood outside the car ordered him to stop.
Villareal drove recklessly to avoid pursuing officers, weaving in and out of his lane at speeds of
more than 85 miles per hour. The pursuit lasted approximately 10 minutes before another CHP
officer successfully executed a PIT maneuver that disabled the truck and forced it up against the
guardrail.
For approximately 1 hour, Villareal refused to exit the truck, claiming he had a loaded firearm
and would kill himself. He moved Jane Doe 2 from her position in the backseat into Villareal’s lap,
despite multiple officers pointing firearms at him. He repeatedly told the officers to shoot him in
front of his child. A certified hostage negotiator with Salinas Police Department was able to de-
escalate the situation and ultimately take Villareal into custody.
Villareal’s ex-girlfriend survived the stabbing, but she required surgery to repair her stab wound.
Jane Doe 2 was uninjured.
On February 3, 2026, Villareal pleaded no contest to inflicting corporal injury on Jane Doe 1 with a
prior conviction for the same offense, false imprisonment of a hostage, assault with a deadly
weapon on a peace officer, making a criminal threat to the female relative, and evading police while
driving recklessly. He admitted that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on Jane Doe 1 under
circumstances involving domestic violence and that he had suffered a prior “strike” conviction
within the meaning of California’s Three Strikes Law.
Judge Mark E. Hood will sentence Villareal to 20 years and 4 months in prison on March 5,
2026.
The incident was primarily investigated by the Salinas Police Department, the Monterey County
Sheriff’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol, with the valuable assistance of multiple other
local agencies.
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