BILLINGS – Authorities have reported that a man stabbed his mother to death while officers tried to intervene in a Billings Heights residence. Robert Fermin Mascarena, 38, has been charged with deliberate homicide in Yellowstone County District Court. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf during arraignment, and bond was set at $500,000.
Mascarena is accused of fatally stabbing his 55-year-old mother, Patricia Mascarena, in a Billings Heights residence on Friday evening. During the incident, Mascarena was shot by a Yellowstone County sheriff’s deputy but sustained non-serious injuries.
According to charging documents, the incident was first reported around 9:34 p.m. when police responded to a stabbing at 843 Bench Blvd. A 12-year-old girl, the caller, reported that her uncle was stabbing her grandmother. She escaped the residence and alerted the police after her uncle threatened that she was next.
Deputy Kevin Stahlberg arrived first and heard a female screaming for help inside the residence. He requested backup and shots were fired during the altercation. City officers were briefed that the male suspect inside claimed to have a knife and a Glock handgun. Stahlberg attempted to enter the residence and fired shots through the door.
Sheriff Mike Linder stated that Stahlberg has been put on temporary administrative leave pending an internal review of the incident.
When officers gathered outside the residence, they spoke with the 12-year-old girl who witnessed the stabbing. She described her uncle’s actions and the injuries sustained by her grandmother. Another officer heard a commotion inside and decided to forcefully enter to assist the woman. They found Patricia Mascarena severely injured on the living room floor and her son barricaded in a bedroom.
Robert Mascarena was apprehended as he tried to escape through a window, expressing remorse and stating that he was responsible for the act. He mentioned being shot and officers observed a wound on his abdomen.
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