BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said one of its deputies was taken into custody after they allegedly assaulted their significant other, who is also a BCSO employee.
Jonatan Amaya, 36, is accused of assaulting the victim, who is a civilian employee with the sheriff’s office.
According to jail records, Amaya has been charged with assaulting a family or household member by impeding their breath and interfering in a request for emergency assistance.
Amaya’s assaulting a family or household member charge is considered a third-degree felony. The interfering with an emergency assistance request charge is considered a misdemeanor.
According to Amaya’s arrest affidavit, which KSAT obtained on Tuesday afternoon, he arrived at the victim’s home uninvited at approximately midnight on Nov. 16.
Amaya then began questioning the victim about “talking” to other people, believing the victim was cheating on him, which the victim denied.
In the warrant, the victim told investigators that Amaya didn’t believe them and then “became upset.”
Authorities said Amaya and the victim had been dating for approximately one year. However, the victim attempted to end their relationship three days before the Nov. 16 incident after the victim found a second phone belonging to Amaya.
The victim, they told investigators, believed Amaya was using the second phone to talk to other women.
BCSO investigators said the two began arguing about their relationship. The verbal argument then became physical, the sheriff’s office said on Tuesday.
The victim told investigators they asked Amaya to leave the home multiple times, but Amaya refused. If he didn’t leave the home, the victim told Amaya that they would call police.
Authorities said Amaya, who is a member of BCSO’s Public Integrity Unit, then grabbed the victim’s phone as they were dialing 911 and threw it across the room.
According to the affidavit, Amaya then went to the victim, grabbed their arms and placed them in a headlock, which impeded the victim’s ability to breathe.
Amaya was arrested while on duty on Monday, BCSO said. He was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center later in the day.
According to jail records, Amaya bonded out of jail just before 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
In a Tuesday news release, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar made the following comment on Amaya’s arrest.
“Our Public Integrity Unit did an outstanding job of acting swiftly in making this arrest and ensuring the safety of the victim,“ Salazar said in the statement. ”We will continue to act in the best interest of justice, regardless of who the perpetrator is.”
In its initial Tuesday press release, BCSO did not specify if Amaya was disciplined or if he remains employed with the sheriff’s office following the arrest.
Amaya was first hired by the sheriff’s office in 2018 and was promoted to corporal in 2023, according to BCSO.
According to a KSAT Investigates analysis, Amaya is the 12th Bexar County sheriff’s deputy taken into custody this year.
The latest BCSO arrest happened in September when Benjamin Ramos III was charged with family assault.
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