Dayton man arrested after knife threat at Catholic Church in Liberty

Vincente Flores

A Dayton man was arrested on Wednesday, April 12, after he allegedly threatened another man with a pocketknife. At approximately 5:47 p.m., Liberty Police Department Dispatch received a 911 call regarding a male subject who had threatened another man with a pocketknife.

The complainant, a parishioner of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, located at 411 Milam Street in the City of Liberty, stated that the church was having a function in the Continuing Christian Education Classroom when he noticed a suspicious person on the premises.

The reportee stated that a middle-aged Hispanic male had arrived at the church, saw him in the churchyard, and began staring at him as if he was angry or upset about something. The reportee related that he began approaching the subject when the stranger produced a black pocket knife and began making threats. The reportee, fearing imminent serious bodily injury or death, reportedly retreated from the armed subject, entered his vehicle, and fled the scene only to be followed, by his would-be attacker, who was driving a light blue Dodge pickup.

Liberty police officers Justin McGraw, Cesar Osgueda and Ktisha Martin were immediately dispatched to the area to locate the suspect vehicle and apprehend the offender. Officer Martin successfully located the suspect vehicle, bearing TX LP #CVN9032, which had become stationary at the corner of Travis and Veronica Street, where she then notified Officer McGraw.

Once both officers were on scene, the suspect was ordered to exit the vehicle; however, the suspect failed to comply with these lawful orders, responding only by holding his state-issued identification card out the driver’s side window. Officer Osgueda issued the commands, in Spanish, twice more and the suspect then exited the vehicle with both hands in the air.

The suspect allegedly began to resist Officer Martin’s attempt to place him in handcuffs, but after a brief scuffle, as he pulled his arm away from the officer, the suspect was successfully taken into custody without injury.

The suspect was identified as being 54-year-old Vicente Soria Flores of Dayton, Liberty County, Texas. He was arrested on charges of Deadly Conduct and Resisting Arrest or Detention, both offenses classified as Class A Misdemeanors, and transported to the Liberty County Jail.

Flores was arraigned by Liberty County Pct #1 Justice of the Peace Stephen Hebert, on 04/13/2023, and a bond of $10,000 was set for each charge. 

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Bluebonnet News
Before creating Bluebonnet News in 2018, Vanesa Brashier was a community editor for the Houston Chronicle/Houston Community Newspapers. During part of her 12 years at the newspapers, she was assigned as the digital editor and managing editor for the Humble Observer, Kingwood Observer, East Montgomery County Observer and the Lake Houston Observer, and the editor of the Dayton News, Cleveland Advocate and Eastex Advocate. Over the years, she has earned more than two dozen writing awards, including Journalist of the Year.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Third World in the Liberty Catholic Church. But they seem to love illegal invaders they know anything about.

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