Staff Report

WARSAW — A Goshen man was arrested following a domestic dispute in the parking lot of a local hotel. 

Rodolfo Aguilar

Rodolfo Aguilar, 28, 50 Brookside Manor Lot 50, Goshen, is charged with strangulation, a level 6 felony; domestic battery, a class A misdemeanor; and domestic battery prior conviction enhancement, a level 6 felony.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on April 23, a Warsaw Police officer was dispatched to a local hotel in reference to a domestic situation. 

Upon arrival, the officer met with hotel management, who said a couple had been involved in a domestic altercation. They said they saw the man, identified as Aguilar, run to the hotel room.

Officers attempted to make contact with Aguilar, but no one answered the door.

They were then informed that the woman involved in the situation was still outside.

Police went outside and found the woman in a car, crying. 

An officer noticed a spilled drink in the vehicle, as well as food items scattered around the area.

The woman was interviewed and eventually admitted that Aguilar became upset with her after they ordered food. She said that when they returned to the hotel parking lot, Aguilar smacked the drinks they had ordered out of her hand. He then allegedly struck the woman in the face, placed his hands around her throat and covered her mouth, choking her. 

The officer noticed that the woman’s neck was red and that she had a cut on her cheek.

The woman opened the door to the hotel room and hotel employees unlocked the deadbolt latch on the door. 

Officers entered the hotel room and found Aguilar asleep on the bed with multiple bottles of alcohol around him. He was awakened and placed under arrest.

Aguilar claimed he never left the room that day, despite hotel employees having seen him run into the room.

He was previously convicted of domestic battery in Elkhart County in 2017. 

Aguilar was booked at the Kosciusko County Jail April 23 on a $5,250 surety and cash bond.