SALINAS VALLEY — A Salinas man has pleaded no contest to multiple charges stemming from a May 2025 incident in which he stabbed his ex-girlfriend, threatened a relative, led police on a high-speed chase and used his 7-year-old daughter as a human shield.
Oscar Villareal Jr., 46, faces a prison term of 20 years and four months.
According to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, Villareal went to the home of his ex-girlfriend, identified as Jane Doe 1, on May 16, 2025. At the time, she had custody of their 7-year-old daughter, Jane Doe 2. Villareal and Doe 1 argued over custody, and she agreed to let him take their daughter to the park.
After leaving Doe 2 at the park, Villareal returned to Doe 1’s home, pushed her to the ground, and stabbed her once in the neck with a folding knife. He attempted to stab her again, but she blocked the blade with her hand. During the attack, Doe 1 was on the phone with a female relative of Villareal’s, who overheard the stabbing. Villareal then told the relative that he had killed Doe 1 and was on his way to kill her and everyone in her home.
Villareal went to the relative’s home, banged on the door, and demanded to be let inside. The relative’s husband told him the police had been called. Villareal forced the husband to drive him away from the scene, pick up Doe 2, and head to Gonzales.
On the way, a California Highway Patrol officer pulled over the truck. When the relative’s husband exited, Villareal took the driver’s seat and crashed the truck into the officer’s patrol car twice, nearly striking her, the DA’s Office said. He then drove recklessly, weaving at speeds over 85 mph to evade pursuing officers. The chase ended after approximately 10 minutes when a second CHP officer used a PIT maneuver to disable the truck against a guardrail.
For roughly an hour, Villareal refused to exit the vehicle, claiming he had a loaded firearm and threatened to kill himself, according to the DA’s Office. He moved Doe 2 from the backseat into his lap and repeatedly told officers to shoot him in front of his child.
A certified hostage negotiator with the Salinas Police Department ultimately de-escalated the situation, and Villareal was taken into custody. Doe 1 survived the stabbing but required surgery to repair her injuries. Doe 2 was unharmed.
On Feb. 3, Villareal pleaded no contest to inflicting corporal injury on Doe 1 with a prior conviction for the same offense, false imprisonment of a hostage, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, making a criminal threat to the female relative, and evading police while driving recklessly. He admitted causing great bodily injury to Doe 1 and acknowledged a prior “strike” conviction under California’s Three Strikes Law, the DA’s office said.
A judge will sentence Villareal to 20 years and four months in state prison on March 5.
