A check welfare call resulted in the arrest of a Pleasant Farms couple Saturday afternoon.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, someone called 911 around 4 p.m. Saturday to report a man in a Chevrolet pickup truck at Independence Circle and Independence Drive kept hitting a woman whenever she tried to get out of the truck.
Officers found the truck in the 4200 block of Fernwood Street and realized the driver, Saul Villa Melendez, 31, and passenger, Vanessa Alvarez, 30, both smelled of alcohol, were slurring their speed and had glassy eyes, the report stated.
Melendez had a bloody lip and scratches and a bite mark on his left cheek, the report stated. Alvarez had red marks on her chest and both arms and was missing several fingernails.
Alvarez wouldn’t tell officers what happened, but she insisted Melendez never put his hands on her, the report stated.
Melendez also denied touching Alvarez, but he told officers she “went off on him,” punching, scratching and biting him, according to the report.
Officers found 5.5 grams of cocaine under the front passenger seat of the truck, according to the report.
The couple were both arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and assault causing bodily injury. Melendez is also facing a driving while intoxicated charge while Alvarez was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.
Melendez was released from the Ector County jail Monday after posting $32,500 in surety bonds. Alvarez was also released Monday after posting $27,500 in surety bonds.
