A Hot Springs man turned himself in Saturday morning less than 30 minutes after allegedly stabbing his stepfather in the neck during an altercation at the victim's residence.
Sean Michael Esquibel, 29, who lists a Pistol Circle address, was taken into custody at the Hot Springs Police Department and charged with second-degree domestic battery, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Esquibel was being held on zero bond and was set to appear Monday in Garland County District Court.
Esquibel lists no prior felony history and according to local court records had only one prior arrest for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He pleaded no contest to the charges on Aug. 27, 2020, and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation.
According to the probable cause affidavit on the battery charge, at around 9:16 a.m. Saturday, police responded to an apartment in the 100 block of Hickory Street regarding someone being stabbed.
Officers located the male victim, 47, sitting at the base of the staircase in front of his apartment with a stab wound to the right side of his neck. When asked, the man said his stepson, identified as Esquibel, had stabbed him.
The victim was transported by LifeNet to CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs for "treatment of his severe injuries" and was later airlifted to a Little Rock hospital for further treatment.
At 9:35 a.m., Esquibel arrived at the police department with his mother to turn himself in. HSPD Detective Matthew Cheatham first spoke to Esquibel's mother, who stated she had driven Esquibel to his stepfather's apartment "to pick up his Xbox." She said she waited across the street in the car while her son went in.
She said she saw Esquibel "come out of the apartment in a hurried manner" and the victim came out behind him yelling. She said Esquibel got in the car and told her he had stabbed the victim. They left and minutes later she drove her son to the police department.
Cheatham interviewed Esquibel after reading him his rights and he stated he had been in the kitchen with his stepfather when his stepfather "lunged" at him. He said he grabbed a knife off the counter and stabbed the victim with it. He said he then "collected his Xbox" and left.
When asked if the victim had struck him or if he had a weapon, Esquibel said he did not and that he had only lunged at him with his arms out. After further investigation, Esquibel was charged with battery around 10:46 a.m. and taken to the Garland County Detention Center where he was booked in shortly before 1 p.m.