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LOGAN — A man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping and assault charges stemming from a domestic violence incident in which he beat a woman so badly she left a trail of blood through the house.
First District Court records show that Christian Ramon Pena, 25, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony amended to a third-degree felony in a plea deal; aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony amended to a class A misdemeanor; and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed four other charges, including obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, and tampering with a witness, a second-degree felony.
His sentencing is set for April 25.
On Christmas Eve, a person called police to report seeing a man hit a car as he pulled up, then shove a woman into an apartment, according to a police booking affidavit. The man was beating the woman, who was screaming for help, the caller told police.
When officers arrived at the apartment, they heard the man, later identified as Pena, telling the woman to calm down and to tell police she was injured in a fall, the police affidavit stated.
"Christian was given lawful orders not to talk to the victim, (but) he continued to yell over five times to the victim to state she had fallen down and that is how she sustained her injuries," according to the affidavit.
Police found the woman in the upstairs bathroom, naked in the bathtub and covered in blood, the affidavit continued. A laceration on her head needed staples and her left eye was blue and purple, swollen to the size of a golf ball, it stated. Officers later observed that her eye was swollen shut.
They also observed "a large amount of blood in the residence, from the front door, up the stairs, to the restroom" where the woman was found.
Pena was on probation with the Cache County Sheriff's Office at the time of his arrest,
"Christian has been arrested multiple times for domestic disputes between him and the victim," the affidavit states. "Christian was also arrested (for) witness tampering in November of 2022, for getting into a physical altercation with a neighbor. Christian got upset with a neighbor for calling law enforcement and reporting a domestic dispute that the neighbor observed."
State court records show Pena was previously convicted of retaliating against a witness, a third-degree felony, and of violating a jail release court order, a class A misdemeanor.
Domestic violence resources
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
