Salinas man pleads no contest to screwdriver attack

(KRON) — A Salinas man who carried out a brutal screwdriver attack pleaded no contest to attempted murder Tuesday.

On Halloween of 2022, Rodrigo Gonzalez-Espita became enraged when his family member told him that she no longer wanted to live with him. “Jane Doe informed Gonzalez-Espita that she no longer wanted to live with him due to his drug use and physical abuse. He started to argue with her and eventually blocked the room’s only exit and prevented her and other family members from leaving.”

When another family member called 911, Gonzalez-Espita grabbed a screwdriver and began stabbing “Jane Doe” in the head and body, Monterey County prosecutors wrote.

A family member tried to protect the victim’s head and stop the attack.

“When Salinas Police officers arrived, Gonzalez-Espita was still attempting to charge
toward Jane Doe. He then ran from the police, yelled that he had a gun and goaded the officers to shoot him. Gonzalez-Espita climbed onto the roof of the house, jumped off, and broke his leg in two places and was finally arrested,” prosecutors wrote.

The victim suffered 14 stab wounds to her head, neck, and body. One of the screwdriver strikes fractured a vertebra in her spine.

Gonzalez-Espita, 51, is facing up to 18 years in prison at his sentencing hearing.