Lubbock rang in the New Year the only way it knows how—by turning a domestic argument into a full-blown felony. On January 1, police arrested 29-year-old Roman Trevino on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a 911 caller reported shots fired and a gun being pointed at them. Officers showed up, knocked, got no answer, and eventually kicked the door in—because that’s usually what happens when someone calls in “gunfire” and then goes radio silent.
Inside, officers reportedly found the greatest hits of Bad Decisions 101: a rifle on the bed, a strong smell of gunpowder, a bullet lodged in the bedroom floor, suspected meth on the bed, and baggies of weed helpfully labeled “SATIVIA,” presumably for the officer who might forget what marijuana looks like. Witnesses described a heated argument that escalated into Trevino grabbing a gun, firing it into the floor, and allegedly pointing it at others while daring them to shoot him—because nothing says “healthy conflict resolution” like firearm chicken in a house with kids.
Accounts varied wildly, as they so often do. One person said Trevino accidentally fired the weapon without knowing it was loaded. Another said he absolutely knew what he was doing and aimed it at people after firing. Pena initially told police nothing happened at all, then later acknowledged some kind of gun discharge, but definitely not in a threatening way. Trevino himself claimed—shockingly—that nothing happened and he had no idea why the police were there.
In the end, Trevino was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center on a $75,000 bond. The kids were reportedly not shot, which is about the lowest bar imaginable for a New Year’s success story.
If this is how Lubbock celebrates fresh starts, maybe next year we try fireworks instead of firearms—just a thought.
