Bloomfield man allegedly held a knife to his girlfriend’s throat – The Tri-City Record

Joseph Bresch was on bail for alleged child abuse when the incident with his girlfriend occurred

A Bloomfield man accused of slitting his young daughter's throat in 2021 was arrested in Albuquerque earlier this week after allegedly holding a knife to his girlfriend's throat.

Eleventh Judicial District Judge Curtis Gurley issued the arrest warrant Thursday for Joseph Bresch, 38, who allegedly violated his conditions of release by seeking a new charge of third-degree aggravated assault on a household member with a deadly weapon.

Bresch and his girlfriend Audrey Melton were “hanging out” at a park on the corner of Menaul and Wyoming, “which is a direct violation” of his release conditions, court records show.

While at the park, Bresch allegedly “held a knife to Melton's throat” and accused her of “calling the feds” on him. Melton suffered “a small puncture wound to the left side of her neck” and had additional red marks on her neck, according to the indictment.

The couple reportedly left the park in a vehicle, and Melton told police that Bresch drove her around “at knifepoint” and tried to convince her to go to California, according to the criminal complaint.

Bresch drove back to his home for addicts in the 12000 block of Charla Court South East, where Melton allegedly ran inside and approached Quincy Elkins, the home's director. Melton allegedly took his gun “for protection from Joseph.” However, she gave it back to the man before leaving the home, the complaint states.

Bresch told police Melton pointed a gun at him and he took the knife away from her to prevent her from hurting herself, the complaint states. However, Elkins told police Bresch allegedly threw the knife “in the direction of” Melton. Bresch allegedly admitted to throwing it but said it fell on the door, the complaint states.

Bresch was arrested on this new charge and is being held at the Albuquerque Metropolitan Detention Center.

He was arrested on June 6 for child abuse causing serious bodily harm. The charge stems from incidents in October 2021 in which Bresch's two-month-old daughter was severely abused.

The girl's alleged injuries included a cut on her throat allegedly caused by a razor blade, a bruised left eye, a cut behind her left ear, a bruised left shoulder blade, broken ribs and a cut “across the front of her neck near the base of her jaw,” according to the affidavit.

The San Juan County District Attorney's Office filed a motion to keep Bresch in the San Juan County Detention Center, but because Bresch was serving a federal probation sentence in Albuquerque, Gurley allowed him to be released to the detox center, according to audio transcripts of the June 17 district court hearing.

According to court documents, Bresch was sentenced to participate in a “community-based program that provides parenting education and training,” perform 40 hours of community service, undergo psychiatric evaluations and “have no contact with the alleged victims.”

On September 5, Bresch informed Gurley that he was complying with the conditions of his release.

“I work full time. I go to Narcotics Anonymous, I take individual counseling and parenting classes and I do everything I can to improve my life as an individual citizen,” Bresch said in court during a hearing to appoint a new defense attorney.

Defense attorney Tyson Quail was named Bresch's new attorney on September 9.

When San Juan County Detective Jeff Liesse checked Bresch's GPS monitor, he discovered that the man had been arrested on the new charge.

Liesse recommended that Bresch's release conditions be lifted “because he appears to pose a threat to public safety as a result of new charges brought against him for an alleged violent crime,” and Bresch was ordered held without bail, the warrant states.

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