Escondido: Border Patrol agent accused of hatchet attack at estranged wife's home

Man Charged With Hatchet Attack Pleads Not Guilty

VISTA, Calif. -- A Border Patrol agent accused of carrying out a hatchet attack at his estranged wife's Escondido home, wounding a man and a woman he may have mistaken for his spouse, pleaded not guilty Monday to attempted murder and other charges.

Charges: Gamalier Reyes Rivera, 32, was ordered held on $10 million bail.

Deputy District Attorney George Loyd told Vista Judge Marshall Hockett that Rivera broke into his wife's home in the early morning hours last Thursday and attacked two of her roommates, whom he didn't know.

"He attacked them with a hatchet," the prosecutor told the judge.

Loyd asked the judge to set bail at $2 million, calling Rivera a "significant flight risk" and "very much" a danger to the community.

The prosecutor cited the defendant's position in law enforcement and unique understanding of the U.S.-Mexico border given his position with the U.S. Border Patrol, where he has worked since 2003.

Besides attempted murder, Rivera is charged with two counts each of torture and aggravated mayhem and single counts of assault with a deadly weapon and burglary.

Victims: Male victim who was gravely injured in the attack -- suffering cuts to the neck and torso -- improved over the weekend and is now in guarded condition.

The female victim was treated at a hospital and released.

Rivera's estranged wife, Erika Von der Heyde and their 7-year-old daughter were in the home with the victims when the violence erupted, but were not injured, police said.

Arrest: officers spotted Rivera standing near a telephone booth at Ninth Avenue and Pine Street, a few blocks from the crime scene, said Escondido police Lt. Bob Benton.

Rivera -- his clothing blood-stained at the time of his arrest -- surrendered peaceably and was taken to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Benton said there were no signs of forced entry.

Loyd would not comment on reports that the day before the attack, a judge ordered that Rivera's wages be garnished to pay $2,200 a month in child and spousal support.

In a court document filed in April, Von der Heyde said Rivera was growing angry about their divorce. She stated that her husband was letting his financial obligations "cloud his judgment," according to the document.

According to the court records, Rivera makes $104,000 annually as a Border Patrol agent.
The defendant faces multiple life terms in prison if convicted, the prosecutor said.

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