Inset: Mauricio Barboza (Harris County Jail). Background: Barboza allegedly threatens a magistrate in Texas (KTRK).
A man from Texas is accused of making threatening remarks toward a magistrate during a bond hearing in Houston, referring to her with a derogatory term and warning, “I will have your head.”
The incident involved 27-year-old Mauricio Barboza, whose outburst was caught on camera by local news outlet ABC affiliate KTRK. During the Friday court session, Barboza was seen behaving erratically, including dancing, before he insulted hearing officer Lisa Porter.
Barboza further escalated the situation by reportedly clashing with detention officers, resulting in one officer being injured. He was already in custody facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal mischief.
According to KTRK, the sequence of events began around 11 a.m. on Thursday when Houston police were dispatched to Westheimer Road near Shadowbriar Drive. A man, later identified as Barboza, was reportedly seen brandishing a hammer and shouting. Although police missed him initially, he allegedly threatened a daycare worker who was outside on trash duty, raising the hammer menacingly and warning her not to approach.
Following this incident, Barboza is accused of heading to a Lowe’s store, where he used the hammer to cause approximately $10,000 in damages by smashing security cameras in the parking lot. A loss prevention officer confronted him, at which point Barboza allegedly raised the hammer again, threatening, “I’m going to kill you.”
After that encounter, the man allegedly went to a Lowe’s where he took the hammer and caused about $10,000 worth of damage when he started striking security cameras in the parking lot. When a loss prevention officer came out to confront him, he lifted the hammer over his head and said “I’m going to kill you.”
Barboza remains in the Harris County Jail on a $75,000 bond.
“This person is a danger to the community,” Porter wrote in a bond motion.
Cops arrested Barboza near the day care.
Neighbor Tara Woods told KTRK she saw cops take him into custody.
“He comes running down the street. The police were right behind him. They chasing, they chasing, they chasing, they chasing. And a lady cop said, ‘Stop, stop, stop!’” Woods told the outlet.
Barboza allegedly tried to hop a fence, but cops caught up to him and placed him in handcuffs before taking him to jail. His next hearing is set for Feb. 26.
