Brownwood Police Department reports that officers responded to a home in Brownwood early Sunday morning, which led to the arrest of a Brownwood man for holding a woman against her will and severely beating her.
According to the report, officers were dispatched to the home after an emergency call was received from an unknown male caller who requested that numerous officers respond to the area of Avenue K and 8th Street and then disconnected.
Officers responded to the unknown emergency and were initially not able to locate anyone; however, they continued to check the area and found a home where a window unit was removed, sitting below an open window, the report states. The officers investigated and found a door (next to the window) badly damaged as if someone had attempted to force their way into the home, according to the report. Inside the window, officers could see a tall dresser which appeared to have been knocked over by someone climbing through the window where the dresser once appeared to have been located, the report states. There was also blood on a doorway and some large amounts of blood on the bedroom floor and bed area, leading the officers to believe that someone inside the home was being held against their will, the officer reported.
Officers continued to make their presence known and eventually a female and male verbally responded from a bathroom. The female was observed to have severe injuries to her face which was actively bleeding and swollen; her eyes were completely swollen shut, the report states. The male, identified as 28-year-old Robert Conrad Zepeda, was placed into handcuffs and escorted from the room so that the victim could speak with police.
According to police, the investigation determined that Zepeda and the victim had dated prior to his arrest in the Dallas area 6 months earlier. He was released from the Dallas County Jail recently and returned to the area, allegedly making contact with the victim whom he accused of dating someone he does not get along with, the report states. The victim stated that she and Zepeda were no longer together and that he did not live at the residence, the report states.
The victim stated that he came to her home and attempted to break in through the bedroom door, then climbed through the bedroom window. According to the report, the victim stated that she ran out of the home in an attempt to get help; however, Zepeda grabbed her and assaulted her in the roadway before forcing her back into the house, to the bedroom, where he began assaulting her again. Zepeda allegedly struck her multiple times with his fists and a cordless drill, according to the report. The assault ended when he allegedly forced her to hide inside the bathroom and ordered her to be quiet when police were heard outside the home, according to the report.
Zepeda was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with weapon, burglary of a habitation with intent to commit assault, unlawful restraint, criminal mischief equal or greater than $50 less than $500, and for a parole violation. Zepeda is being held in the Brown County Jail in lieu of bonds totaling $206,000. The woman was taken to Brownwood Regional Medical Center for treatment. An application for an emergency protective order has been filed on the victim’s behalf and criminal charges are being pursued according to the report.
