A fight in a gas station parking lot on Highway 140 in Merced turned violent on Sunday evening, leaving a 29-year-old woman with multiple stab wounds and two people under arrest. Deputies say the altercation began between two women before one of them pulled out a knife.
Merced County deputies responded around 5:30 p.m. Sunday to reports of a stabbing at a gas station in the 3900 block of Highway 140, according to Los Banos Enterprise. When deputies arrived, they found the victim with multiple stab wounds, the outlet reported.
Investigators said the victim and 45-year-old Mina Villarreal got into a physical altercation in the parking lot before Villarreal pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim multiple times, according to KMPH Fox 26. Villarreal was arrested and booked into Merced County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, per the same account.
Second Arrest Tied to Restraining Order
Deputies also arrested 47-year-old Isaac Diaz at the scene on suspicion of violating a domestic violence restraining order, the Los Banos Enterprise reported. The sheriff's account did not specify Diaz's relationship to either woman or his role in the incident, leaving that detail unresolved as of the latest reporting.
The victim's condition was not provided, and the investigation remains ongoing, per the outlet's report. No further details on her recovery or the circumstances that sparked the parking lot fight have been released.
Not an Isolated Case in Merced County
The Highway 140 stabbing follows a separate incident in Hilmar, where a 22-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly stabbing another woman during an altercation, according to the Merced Sun-Star. In that case, the victim suffered wounds to her chest and back and was later released from the hospital, the newspaper reported.
No additional information about court filings or case outcomes for either the Merced or Hilmar incidents has been made public. Investigators have not released further updates on the Highway 140 case as of this report.
