A 40-year-old San Elizario woman is facing multiple charges after deputies say a welfare check on the 12330 block of Stubbs Drive turned into a scissors attack, a death threat, and a struggle with law enforcement during her arrest on Saturday. Joanna Carmen Mata was taken into custody after deputies responded to reports of a woman screaming and children crying inside the home.
According to KFOX, deputies were originally dispatched for a welfare check before the situation escalated. Video allegedly shows Mata going after a victim with a pair of scissors, and deputies say she threatened to kill them. Mata was ultimately charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a peace officer, and resisting arrest, search, or transport.
The station's report notes that Mata became combative while being taken to the El Paso County Downtown Detention Facility and kicked a deputy in the hand during the transport. Her bond was set at $35,750. She was booked at the downtown facility located at 601 E. Overland Ave., a nine-floor, 310,440-square-foot jail with capacity for 1,010 inmates that also houses the county's two Jail Magistrate Courts, according to El Paso County facility records.
What the Charges Could Mean for Mata
The most serious charge Mata faces, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, is generally classified as a second-degree felony under Texas Penal Code § 22.02, carrying a potential sentence of 2 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to Hindieh Law. Under Texas law, prosecutors do not need to prove physical contact or injury to secure a conviction on that charge; brandishing or pursuing someone with an object capable of causing death or serious bodily injury is enough to satisfy the statute.
A Texas appellate court ruled in Arnoldo Ruiz v. State that everyday items like scissors are not deadly weapons by default, but they can meet the legal threshold if used or intended to be used in a manner capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. That standard was laid out by the Texas Court of Appeals in Hidalgo County, as documented by Justia Law.
The assault-on-a-peace-officer charge tied to the alleged kick is a third-degree felony under Texas Penal Code § 22.01(b)(1), carrying a sentence range of 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per Saputo Toufexis Criminal Defense PLLC. Texas law can enhance a simple assault to a felony when the offense involves specified conduct, such as causing bodily injury to a public servant who is lawfully performing official duties, with knowledge of the person's status. Mata's third charge, resisting arrest, search, or transport, is a Class A misdemeanor under Texas Penal Code § 38.03, punishable by up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000, according to LaVine Law Firm.
A Pattern of Emergency Calls in San Elizario
San Elizario is a historic border city along the Rio Grande in El Paso County, home to roughly 10,116 residents across 6.9 square miles as of the 2020 Census, per demographic data compiled by MMCG Analytics. The community incorporated as an independent city in 2013 after historically serving as a Spanish presidio and the original seat of El Paso County.
This is not the first high-priority disturbance call deputies have handled there this year. Back in March, a similar bat-and-tire-iron home invasion along Four Wheel Drive ended with two people arrested on aggravated assault charges following a bat-wielding home invasion. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office was the agency involved in the response.
The agency is led by Sheriff Oscar Ugarte, who took office on January 1, 2025. The Sheriff's Office's 2025 Annual Report is mentioned in the article, but the supplied materials do not verify a crime-decrease figure.
Open Questions in the Case
Domestic disturbance calls like the one that preceded Mata's arrest are far from isolated across the state, as illustrated by coverage of a separate Horizon City assault case earlier this month.
Several details remain unresolved in Mata's case, including the identity and relationship of the person deputies say she threatened, whether any protective order has been sought through the El Paso County Attorney's Office, and the current status of the children who were reportedly heard crying during the initial call. Mata was arrested, and her bond was set at $35,750.
