Officers arrest machete-wielding domestic violence suspect

June 13, 2022

By KAREN VELIE

Atascadero police officers arrested a machete-wielding domestic violence suspect in Templeton on Sunday evening.

Shortly after 7 p.m., a caller reported a man hitting the door of a car parked at the Motel 6 on El Camino Real in Atascadero with a machete. Officers arrived to find the subject had left in an older model, silver Suburban.

Officers located the vehicle entering Highway 101 at Santa Rosa Road and conducted a vehicle stop. Rigoberto Perez, 60, initially pulled over, but then headed northbound on Highway 101 with officers in pursuit.

With the assistance of the California Highway Patrol and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, officers placed a tire spike strip at the Main Street off-ramp in Templeton. The spike strip flattened three of Perez’s tires.

Officers arrested Perez without incident and booked him in the San Luis Obispo County Jail on charges of violation of a domestic restraining order, failure to yield, obstructing an officer and possession of a controlled substance.