Deputies: Mariposa man threatens ex-wife with knife in front of kids

A 24-year-old Mariposa man has been arrested, accused of holding a knife to his ex-wife’s throat and threatening to kill her while the woman’s two young children looked on, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Joshua Alexander was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and child abuse, among other allegations, deputies said.

Deputies responded around 9:09 p.m. to a series of 911 calls from a home in the 5000 block of Italian Creek Road in Mariposa.

The woman told deputies her ex-husband, later identified as Alexander, had broken into her home, smashed windows and held a knife to her throat, threatening to kill her “all while her children were present in the same room,” deputies said in a news release.

Investigators found Alexander a short time later outside a neighboring home.

“(Alexander) began making statements to the deputies that he wanted to die and that they would have to shoot him to get him to stop,” deputies said in the statement.

Alexander eventually surrendered and was arrested.

“While transporting (Alexander) to the patrol car, he made several verbal threats towards deputies, stating he was associated with a Mexican cartel and would murder them,” deputies said. “(Alexander) had multiple self-inflicted wounds and was transported to an area hospital.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Deputies: Mariposa man threatens ex-wife with knife in front of kids."