Background: News footage of the YMCA location in San Antonio, Texas, where a man was allegedly attacked on Feb. 19 (KENS). Insets (left to right): Abel Ali Rivas and Melanie Sierra Gomez (Bexar County Sheriff's Office).
A Texas man was accused of stabbing another man, allegedly at the direction of the victim's ex-girlfriend.
Abel Ali Rivas, 27, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the alleged attack on 32-year-old Oscar Javier Barbosa. Rivas' arrest comes about a month after the arrest of 31-year-old Melanie Sierra Gomez, who was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon days after the Feb. 19 attack on Barbosa.
According to an affidavit obtained by local CBS affiliate KENS, Barbosa shares two children with Gomez, but they were no longer together. Barbosa was picking up their two children from a YMCA location in San Antonio when he was allegedly stabbed by Rivas.
The San Antonio Express-News reported that Rivas was also the ex-boyfriend of Gomez. According to the affidavit obtained by both news outlets, Gomez allegedly lured Barbosa out of the YMCA where he was scheduled to pick up their children for a custody exchange on the evening of Feb. 19. Barbosa told police that he was communicating with Gomez on the phone that evening. When he arrived at the YMCA at around 6:30 p.m., Gomez reportedly told him first to go inside the building to get the children, then told him to come back outside.
According to the affidavit, Barbosa placed a call to his current girlfriend during this time.
Police said that when Barbosa came outside the YMCA, Rivas was waiting there for him and said, "What's up?" Soon after that, Gomez approached, and she and Rivas initiated a verbal altercation with Barbosa, who was still on the phone with his current girlfriend. Investigators spoke to the girlfriend who was on the other end of Barbosa's call, and she told them she heard Barbosa say, "Are you going to stab me over this?" before the call was disconnected.
The girlfriend told police that she recognized Rivas' voice because she previously had a 10-year relationship with him.
According to the affidavit, Gomez accused Barbosa of getting his new girlfriend pregnant, then allegedly told Rivas to "go… do what you are going to do." Rivas then allegedly stabbed Barbosa several times in the abdomen and arms, causing serious but not life-threatening injuries. At the same time, police said, Gomez pinned Barbosa against a car so he could not escape.
Police said that after the alleged attack, Rivas fled in Barbosa's car, which had been running since he pulled into the parking lot to get his children. Gomez reportedly stayed for a few moments, getting in a few more insults about Barbosa's current girlfriend before leaving the scene herself.
Barbosa was brought to a hospital and treated for serious injuries. He was able to identify Gomez and Rivas as his alleged attackers.
Gomez was arrested a few days after the alleged attack and was released from the Bexar County Jail after posting $85,000 bond. Rivas remains in custody at the Bexar County Jail where he is being held on a total of $105,000 bond, $100,000 for the aggravated assault charge and $5,000 for a charge of possession of a controlled substance.
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