Man Allegedly Pushed Woman He ‘Was Going To Marry’ Out Of Moving Vehicle

A California man accused of assaulting a woman during a cross-country road trip that spiraled across multiple states was charged Monday in Carbon County Circuit Court with felony grand theft. According to court documents, Enrique Pierre Ballesteros, 61, allegedly told the woman, “I was going to marry you but now I’m going to kill you,” before pushing her from a moving vehicle in Utah. Wyoming troopers later arrested him near Rawlins on Interstate 80.

The case began about a week ago outside a McDonald’s in Utah, where police were called after a woman with two black eyes was reportedly pounding on the glass, telling people she had just been thrown from a moving vehicle. The woman, Tricia Alesna, told investigators she had been traveling from California to Wisconsin with Ballesteros, a man she had previously dated. According to court documents, Alesna agreed to the trip because Ballesteros wanted to prove he was “a changed man.”

Alesna said the violence began around Reno, Nevada, where Ballesteros allegedly hit her in the head and face while they were staying at a casino hotel. In Battle Mountain, Nevada, she said the violence continued, leaving her with the first black eye. Over the next few days, the pair stayed at a campground, where Alesna alleged she woke up to Ballesteros having sex with her. She said the physical abuse continued the entire way through Nevada and Utah, and that she tried several times to get away and could not.

Alesna said the two were arguing while the car was moving when Ballesteros allegedly put both hands around her neck and told her: “I was going to marry you but now I’m going to kill you.” She told police he then forced her out of the moving vehicle.

The same day Utah police interviewed Alesna, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper spotted a white Chrysler Seabreeze tied to a “Be on the Look Out” alert traveling east on I-80 near Rawlins. Troopers pulled the vehicle over and arrested Ballesteros.

During interviews, Ballesteros claimed Alesna had a history of punching herself and said the trip unraveled after she bought a bottle of wine at a Nevada gas station. He alleged she became “drunk and violent” after a few sips and had been kicking him while he drove. He told police he “could not handle it no more,” so he dropped her off “somewhere safe.” He denied being abusive, saying he is not “an abusive person,” and claimed she had been “hitting herself.”

Police recovered from the vehicle items including a powder blue iPhone, an LG Android phone, a Dyson blow dryer, a solar generator, backpacks filled with new clothes still bearing tags, and a wallet covered in butterflies. Investigators also documented visible injuries, including bruising around Alesna’s eyes, bruising on her back, and bruising on her arms.

Ballesteros is charged with felony grand theft, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Despite the allegations of repeated physical abuse, no charges directly related to domestic violence or assault have been filed against Ballesteros in Carbon County, largely because most of the alleged violence happened in Nevada and Utah—not Wyoming. Criminal charges generally must be filed where the conduct occurred. Investigators or prosecutors in other states may still be reviewing evidence before deciding whether to file assault, strangulation, kidnapping, or domestic violence charges. Ballesteros is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 20.