Knife fight breaks out at local restaurant

Man charged with assaulting his co-worker brother

By LISA BEISEL, Staff Writer

Published 07/24/08

A man was charged with assault yesterday afternoon after police said he attacked his brother with a butcher knife at El Toro Bravo restaurant on West Street.

Officers were called to the restaurant at about 2:20 p.m. Witnesses said two brothers, who work in the kitchen, got into an argument. Armando Urbal, 31, apparently told his younger brother to mop the floor, and the younger one became upset and attacked him with a knife, according to police reports.

The older brother struggled and received only some minor cuts to his arms, police said.

Luis Alberto Mojica, 17, of Martha Court, was charged with first- and second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to online court records. He was charged as an adult due to the seriousness of the offenses, police said.

Neither man spoke much English and police officers called in a Hispanic liaison to translate the victim's statement. The victim told the interpreter this has happened before.

"The victim says his brother does have an anger problem," said Officer Hal Dalton, a city Police Department spokesman. "It's usually not this bad. But he has reacted violently before to directions and instructions."

Fights in restaurants are a concern because of the easy access to weapons, he said.

"There are so many weapons at your disposal in a kitchen," he said.

The knife used in the fight was a large butcher knife from the kitchen, according to reports. No one else was injured in the fight.

Monica Meza, who works at the restaurant, said the brothers frequently argued but it had never before became violent.

"It was just about two brothers fighting, that's all," she said.

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Immigration - July 28, 2008

Three Cheers for Brian Armstrong, I still cannot understand why some people have such a hard time understanding the word ILLEGAL!!! If you rob a bank you are doing something that is illegal correct?? Well if you are here in this country illegally you are committing a crime also. Do you think we should let one person get away with committing an illegal action over the other just because one was not as severe as the other?? My grandfather came to this country as a boy from Italy. He worked and became a United States Citizen and he will tell you that the proudest day in his life was the day he became a citizen of the US. Oh and by the way, he learned how to speak English BEFORE he came to this country so that he could communicate with the citizens of this country that he WANTED to be a PART of!!! Illegal's do NOT want to be a part of this country, they only want to make money here to send home and then leave after 3-4 years. They are not the ones who are trying to become citizens legally here, they are the one's who care nothing about our country except for how much money they can earn and send back to their real country. The ones who want to be here leagally are the one's who are learning the English language and are learning about the United States of America. They, like my grandfather thirst for this freedom and life and will do whatever it takes to become a legal US citizen.