A Bullhead City man was animated when he answered a Judge’s questions while indicating he was eager to enter a plea agreement that will send him to the Arizona Department of Corrections. Ernie Hernandez Felix, 29, responded to Judge Billy Sipe’s inquiry regarding his comprehension of the proposed plea during the April 22 hearing.
“I think it’s a great deal. I am taking it,” Felix said. “I am guilty sir. I am guilty.”
Prosecutor Kellen Marlow said that Felix and co-defendant Sigifredo Herrera-Arteaga, 32, Bullhead City, accosted the victim in the driveway of his home in the 1800 block of Montclair Drive in July, 2017. Marlow said Herrera-Arteaga dragged the man from a vehicle and pistol whipped him in the head, telling him he was going to kill him.
Police spokeswoman Emily Fromelt said the victim was ordered inside the residence where he was further assaulted and his room was ransacked. Marlow said Felix allegedly threatened the victim with a knife and chased after him before the victim fled to his girlfriend’s residence.
She said the suspects fled in the victim’s truck with his cellphone.
Felix is convicted of aggravated assault in a deal dismissing charges of armed robbery, burglary, kidnapping and assisting a criminal street gang. He faces a 5-15 year prison term when sentenced June 6.