A Vancouver man accused of trying to strangle his girlfriend to death faces new charges in Clark County Superior Court for allegedly calling her from jail and directing her to change her account of what happened.
Jo Rodriquez Reynosa, 31, appeared Wednesday in court on suspicion of two counts of witness tampering and nine counts of violating a no-contact order.
Rodriquez Reynosa was previously charged with attempted second-degree domestic violence murder. The alleged incident happened in April at the Candlewood Suites in Vancouver. His bail was set at $1 million in the case.
Now, Rodriquez Reynosa is accused of calling his girlfriend more than two dozen times from the Clark County Jail. Thirteen of those calls were successful, and they stayed on the line together for as long as 46 minutes, according to a probable cause affidavit.
A recounting of some of those calls by an investigator, who was assigned to monitor Rodriquez Reynosa’s calls from jail in the event that he violated the no-contact order, alleges he and his girlfriend discussed how she should testify in court if the case goes to trial, the affidavit says.
On April 21, Rodriquez Reynosa took his girlfriend to the hotel at 2010 S.E. 192nd Ave. Shortly after arriving, he told her that demons were telling him to kill her, her family and himself. He also stated that people were trying to kill his family. The next morning, Rodriquez Reynosa told his girlfriend he was going to “listen to the demons,” according to a probable cause affidavit filed in the attempted murder case.
He attacked his girlfriend, who suffered bruising and abrasions on her hands, arms and back, and bruising and a bump on her forehead. She told police she used a broken glass to cut Rodriquez Reynosa’s arms in an attempt to stop him, court records say.
Rodriquez Reynosa was taken to the hospital, where he struggled with eight to 10 people as they restrained him on a gurney. After a short stay there, he was booked into the jail, where he has been incarcerated since his arrest.
Court records show the no-contact order was issued May 4. The violations of the order allegedly happened between Aug. 2 and Sept. 24.
During a phone call from the jail Aug. 6, Rodriquez Reynosa told his girlfriend that she “needs to tell the truth as to what happened” at the hotel, and to say she was able to scream for help when she was choked so he’ll face a lesser charge, according to the affidavit. They also said they loved each other and “in the end, they would be together,” the affidavit says.
In a separate call Aug. 23, Rodriquez Reynosa allegedly said, “But I think we can beat (the criminal case) … I think we can get through this and beat this … but we just gotta be on the same page, and we gotta make sure that we say things the right way,” the affidavit says.
During a court appearance Wednesday, Judge Gregory Gonzales added $200,000 to Rodriquez Reynosa’s bail.
