Couple arrested for assaulting bar patrons in Encinitas - San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com

Couple arrested for assaulting bar patrons in Encinitas

ENCINITAS (CNS) - A North County man and his live-in girlfriend were arrested on Labor Day on suspicion of assaulting a pair of fellow patrons at a neighborhood tavern, a sheriff's investigator reported Tuesday.

Jose Villanueva, 34, allegedly attacked the 23-year-old men with a folding knife outside D Street Bar on South Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas about 12:30 a.m. Monday, slashing one on the chest and the other on his torso and one of his arms, Detective Robert Stevenson said.

Villanueva then got into a car driven by his girlfriend, 23-year-old Jacqueline Albrecht, who accelerated directly toward the young men, narrowly missing them, before driving off, according to Stevenson.

Medics treated the victims at the scene, then took one of them to an emergency room for further care. Their injuries were non-life-threatening, the detective said.

A witness was able to provide the license plate number of the vehicle in which the suspects fled, and deputies used it to track them down at their Encinitas home. Both were booked into Vista Jail on suspicion of assault and were released on bail later in the day. They will likely be arraigned early next week, Stevenson said.

Shortly before the violence erupted, Villanueva and one of the younger men had gotten into an alcohol-fueled argument inside a men's room at the nightspot, the detective said. The reason for the dispute was unclear.