A man remains jailed after allegedly firing a rifle, jumping into backyards and attempting to enter homes in a bizarre nighttime incident in a Northeast El Paso neighborhood.
Daton Jay Selepeo Mareham, 32, is accused of what Assistant District Attorney Mateo Delgado described at a bond hearing as “troubling allegations of deadly conduct” by firing a rifle on the Sunday night of Mother’s Day, May 10, in the Northtowne Village neighborhood off McCombs Street and Sean Haggerty Drive.
The El Paso Police Department arrested Mareham on charges of deadly conduct discharge of a firearm, two counts of criminal trespass with a deadly weapon and possession of less than a gram of cocaine, stated an EPPD news release and jail records.
During a teleconference bond hearing on Wednesday, May 13, Magistrate Judge Ruben Nuñez —citing the nature of the crime, safety of the community and Mareham’s criminal record — refused to lower the amount of Mareham’s bonds, which total $38,500.
Mareham, who told the court that he is originally from El Paso, lives in Portland and is visiting family, remains held at the El Paso County jail in Downtown.
Man with rifle jumps into backyards in El Paso
During the hearing, Delgado, the prosecutor, provided an overview of the Sunday night case, citing complaint affidavits filed by police. Home security video shared on social media allegedly showed a man with a rifle jumping into backyards, Delgado added.
The incident started about 9:23 p.m. when a woman was in a hot tub outside when she heard two to four gunshots coming from the left side of her residence on Devontry Drive, Delgado said.
The woman got scared and went indoors before seeing a man run into her backyard carrying a rifle, Delgado said. The armed man pulled on the backdoor of the house, could not get in and then jumped the fence and left after being in the yard for approximately three minutes.
At about 9:30 p.m., a neighbor, who also heard the gunshots, was inside her house on Middledale Street when she saw a man with a rifle running toward her home from across the street, Delgado said.
The man started banging on the locked front door, pulling on the handle and yelling for help with the rifle down by his side, Delgado said. The man then entered the backyard before climbing onto the roof, but was unable to enter the home. The rifle was found outside the residence.
Mareham was later located and arrested by police without incident. He was allegedly in possession of cocaine at the time he was taken into custody, police said.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Man with rifle jumps into El Paso backyards, tries to enter homes
Reporting by Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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