August 19, 2023 - Merced County Sheriff's Office officials report that early Friday morning, Deputy Ibarra was stopped by students walking to school. The students said that a man was attacking someone on Ailanthus Avenue.

Deputy Ibarra responded to the location and found the man, identified as 33-year-old Benjamin Aguilar, standing in the front yard holding a small wooden bat. Deputy Ibarra gave several orders to drop the bat, however, Aguilar wouldn't put it down. Finally, Aguilar dropped the bat, and as Deputy Ibarra went to detain him, he started to resist. Deputy Ibarra deployed his taser, which had little effect on Aguilar, and a physical altercation began. Deputy Armenta arrived on scene and assisted Deputy Ibarra with detaining and arresting Aguilar.

After further investigation, it was determined that Aguilar had assaulted two individuals inside the home. Both victims were transported to a local hospital for treatment. Neither Deputy Ibarra nor Deputy Armenta were injured during this incident.

Source: Merced County Sheriff's Office