Man convicted in roommate stabbing pleads not guilty

EL CAJON (CNS) – A man accused of attacking his roommate at their East
County apartment, prompting her to stab him in self-defense, pleaded not guilty
this week to assault and battery charges.

Blaine Anthony Arellano, 20, was ordered held on $50,000 bail. He faces
four years in prison if convicted.

Shortly before 5:30 a.m. Monday, police got two reports within a few
minutes of each other — of a domestic dispute in the 3800 block of Murray Hill
Drive in La Mesa, and a man with knife wounds showing up at Grossmont Hospital.

Officers soon determined that the two incidents were related, La Mesa
police Lt. Matt Nicholass said.

A woman at the apartment told police a roommate she had dated until
recently – later identified as Arellano – had hit and bit her during a
quarrel. When he allegedly started to choke her, she grabbed a knife and
stabbed him to end the assault, Nicholass said.

The 26-year-old woman was taken to a hospital for an evaluation.
Arellano was treated for two wounds to his right arm before being booked into
San Diego Central Jail.

He will be back in court April 2 for a readiness conference and April 9
for a preliminary hearing.