Illegal alien charged

Early Friday morning, Guillermo Saldana, a 39-year-old illegal immigrant who had recently been thrown out of Pancho Villa Lounge, stabbed an off duty lounge bartender in the chest following an argument.

Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies, who arrived at the scene after the stabbing, learned Saldana had been involved in an ongoing dispute with the victim, said Capt. Wendell Raborn, the sheriff’s office public information officer.

Saldana was “ejected from the lounge because of his behavior and intoxicated condition” but apparently returned and attempted to fight with the victim.

It was in the parking lot, said Raborn, that Saldana was restrained by lounge patrons. He broke free, however, and stabbed the victim once in the chest.

Some media reports said the stabbing took place inside the building. This is something Denise Richard, the manager at Pancho Villa, denies.

“We threw out the Mexican and he came back in,” she said. “We threw him out again. He took off.” The employee, “Mike” — Richard said she did not have his last name available at the time — walked outside. “One thing led to another,” and they ran down Center Street. The stabbing took place, said Richard, between Mark’s Tire & Wrecker Service and Delta World Tire.

“He did not get stabbed in here,” she said.

Richard said she had never seen Saldana before that night and nothing like this had ever occurred before.

Because of Saldana’s highly intoxicated condition, deputies were able to get only limited personal information, but did ascertain that he is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Raborn said Saturday that Saldana’s address is listed as 422 Tedernalus St. in Brownsville, Texas.

Raborn said Saldana speaks some English, but a Spanish-speaking officer was there trying to talk to him. They were not able to complete the booking process with a picture Friday morning because of his “highly intoxicated” state. “When I say he was drunk, he was really, really drunk,” said Raborn, adding that Saldana could not stand up.

Acadian Ambulance took the victim to the hospital. He was now listed as in stable condition Saturday afternoon. Raborn did not have the victim’s name on Saturday night.

Saldana was arrested on one count of simple battery and one count of attempted second-degree murder and is now being held in the Iberia Parish Jail.

A bond hearing is scheduled for Monday.