A 16-year-old Arizona boy has been sentenced to prison for violently attacking and threatening his girlfriend, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced on Wednesday.
Troy Aguilar-Olmos, who was 15 at the time of the attack, will serve three and a half years in prison followed by three years of supervised probation. Prosecutors said his actions left his teenage girlfriend traumatized.
“What happened to this young woman is heartbreaking,” Mitchell said in a statement. “No relationship should ever be marked by fear or violence, no matter the age of the offender. Today’s outcome cannot undo the trauma she endured, but it is a step toward justice.”
According to investigators, the incident took place in March when Aguilar-Olmos threatened to shoot and kill his girlfriend if she didn’t come outside to talk to him. Fearing for her family’s safety, the girl complied.
“When she came up to him, he choked her, pointed a gun at her back, and repeatedly punched her,” Mitchell said. “Luckily, her sister’s boyfriend was there, and he intervened and got the gun away.”
Aguilar-Olmos was later arrested at his parents’ home. However, the threats continued even after he was taken into custody. During a press conference, Mitchell played several recorded jail phone calls in which Aguilar-Olmos threatened the victim in Spanish.
“I don’t want you to be playing with a guy because if you are talking to a guy and you think that because I’m in jail, I can’t do anything, my queen, you are wrong,” Aguilar-Olmos said in one call, according to an English translation. “You know I’m going to get out of here, and when I get out of here, if I find out about something, watch out.”
In another call, he threatened to set fire to a restaurant if he discovered she had spoken to another boy. “I’m going to burn the whole restaurant down,” he said. Prosecutors charged Aguilar-Olmos as an adult, and he eventually pleaded guilty to aggravated assault.
Mitchell used the case to emphasize the importance of discussing domestic violence with young people. “Parents, understand that this absolutely can happen to your kids. It can happen to teenagers,” she said. “Please educate them about domestic violence because it happens to them.”
Authorities encouraged anyone facing abuse to seek help. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day by calling or texting 1-800-799-7233.