Judge orders man accused of stalking, trying to rob woman held in jail
LAS CRUCES – A judge ordered a man accused of stalking and attempting to rob the mother of his children to be held in jail Wednesday, just over two weeks after he allowed the same man to leave custody.
Jesse Antillion, 35, is charged with one count of attempt to commit armed robbery, one count of aggravated assault, and five counts of aggravated stalking.
In the most recent case, police accused Antillion of repeatedly violating court orders to leave the mother of his children alone. Over the last few months, Antillion fought with the woman regularly and once stabbed the woman’s dog, according to an affidavit. Antillion said he stabbed the dog in self-defense. Police also accused Antillion of attempting to steal the woman’s purse in July.
“He just keeps doing it,” George Harrison, an assistant district attorney, told the judge.
During the hearing Sept. 28, it was clear that Antillion’s past alleged actions were on trial as much as the alleged actions in this case. Another pretrial detention hearing 16 days ago played a significant role.
On Sept. 12, Antillion appeared before 3rd Judicial District Judge Douglas Driggers. In that case, Driggers heard arguments about whether to detain Antillion after another alleged blowup with the mother landed him in district court.
After arguments, Driggers allowed Antillion to leave the jail, saying that the prosecutors failed to prove no release conditions would ensure the public’s safety. Driggers ordered Antillion to have no contact with the woman and allowed him to leave jail as the case continued.
That appearance seemed fresh on Driggers’ mind when he ruled differently on Sept. 28.
“He completely ignored that (no contact order),” Driggers said, adding that Antillion did so in a violent nature with total disregard for the court’s authority.
Antillion’s lawyer, Anthony Filosa, argued that prosecutors failed to prove his client was dangerous. Filosa said that Antillion was also likely unaware that the protection order was in place since prosecutors did not deliver the court document notifying him about the order.
Filosa also pointed out that Antillion had not been convicted for a decade.
Ultimately, Driggers ruled that Antillion posed an extreme danger to the mother and that no release conditions could protect her or the public. He ordered Antillion detained until the court could resolve the case.
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Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Judge orders man accused of stalking, trying to rob woman held in jail
