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JULIA ROBERTS GOAD

Staff Writer

DELBARTON — The Mingo County Sheriff’s Department arrested a convicted sex offender on domestic battery charges Wednesday.

According to the criminal complaint, officers responded to a domestic battery call in Delbarton where Wilberto Rivera, 36, of Delbarton, allegedly choked a woman, poked her in the eyes and broke her glasses.

When officers placed Rivera in custody, he allegedly became combatant, refusing to get in the cruiser or comply with officers’ commands to get in the car and had to be forcibly restrained in the vehicle.

The complaint stated that Rivera began banging his head his head on the car windows, attempting to break the glass. He also unbuckled the passenger restraint, attempting to get his legs up to kick Deputy Steve Smith, the complaint stated. He was restrained again, with leg restraints, and taken to the Delbarton City Hall for processing, where he allegedly kicked Dep. Smith and spitting officers until he was pepper sprayed.

During processing, the defendant was found to be a registered sex offender in the state of Massachusetts and in Cabell County, but had failed to registered in Mingo although he had been living in Delbarton for two weeks.

He was charged with domestic battery, three counts of obstructing an officer, destruction of property and failure to register as a sex offender.

He was arraigned by Joey Kohari who set his bond at $12,000. He remains lodged in Southwestern Regional Jail. Cpl. Mines and Deputies Moore and Steve Smith of Mingo County Sheriff’s Department investigated.