Merced man arrested on suspicion of assaulting his mother

A 25-year-old Merced man was arrested earlier this week, accused of assaulting his mother with “a heavy object,” the Police Department reported.

Ricardo Salinas was booked into the John Latorraca Correctional Facility on suspicion of attempted murder. He remained in custody Tuesday on $500,000 bail, according to booking records.

Merced police responded about 6:30 a.m. Monday to the parking lot of the Factory 2-U store, 1240 W. Main St., and found a woman bleeding from her head, Capt. Tom Trindad said in a news release.

The woman’s name was not released. She was said to be in her 50s.

Police described the woman’s head injury as serious.

Trindad said officers could not comment on many details of the ongoing investigation.

Police identified Salinas as a suspect in the case, but officers declined to elaborate on what led them to that conclusion. Police did say Salinas had blood on his clothing when officers questioned him.

“Salinas at first denied being at the scene but eventually admitted being there and that an unknown white male had stabbed his mother,” officers said in the statement.

Trindad said the woman had not been stabbed, but rather struck in the head with an unidentified heavy object.

“His story did not match the physical evidence at the scene,” Trindad said.

Jail records show Salinas has been arrested numerous times since 2012. His criminal history includes convictions for assault with a deadly weapon and arson.

This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Merced man arrested on suspicion of assaulting his mother."