A Roma man is charged with threatening to kill his wife. It happened after she told him she wanted a divorce, a sworn complaint says.

Mario Alberto Rivera faces a charge of terroristic threat against a family or household member. That is a Class A misdemeanor in Texas. It can mean up to one year in county jail.

The charge comes from a complaint and probable cause affidavit. A Starr County Sheriff's Office deputy swore to it. It was filed in Justice of the Peace Court, Precinct 4.

What the deputy wrote

On Monday, Aug. 24, a call came in about a disturbance at a home in Roma. Deputy Oscar Munoz Jr. was sent to check on it.

He talked to the woman who called. She told him what had happened that day.

She said she and her husband got into an argument. The fight was about problems in their marriage.

She told him she did not want to stay with him. She said she would file for divorce.

That made him upset, she told the deputy. Then he said he would kill her, according to the affidavit.

She told the deputy this was not the first time. She said there had been several domestic disturbances with him in the past year.

Those fights "keep becoming more violent and personal in nature," the affidavit says.

She called the sheriff's office for help. Then she told her husband that deputies were on the way. He left the home a short time later, she said.

The deputy wrote that she "feared for her life and safety." She does not want him near her anymore, the affidavit says.

What the charge means

A terroristic threat is a threat to commit violence. The complaint says this threat was meant to make her afraid of being badly hurt right away.

In this case, the complaint calls it family violence. The woman told the deputy that Rivera is her husband.

Talk alone can be a crime in Texas. A person does not have to touch anyone. A threat to kill can be enough for this charge.

The charge here is a misdemeanor. That is a lower level crime than a felony. Even so, a family violence conviction can follow a person. Under Texas law, it can make later charges more serious.

The arrest

The deputy swore to the complaint on Aug. 25. He signed it in front of Justice of the Peace Valerie Clarke of Precinct 4. The Precinct 4 court stamped the case filed that same day.

Judge Clarke then signed a warrant for Rivera's arrest.

Rivera was arrested on that warrant on Aug. 26, the officer's return shows. The document says he was arrested at the Starr County Jail.

The court documents do not list a bond amount. They do not name a lawyer for Rivera. They also do not give his age.

The documents list the case under Starr County Sheriff's Office case number 2026-01883.

What comes next

Prosecutors will decide whether to move the case forward in court.

The documents do not show any court date yet.

The affidavit tells only one side. It is based on what the woman told the deputy. Rivera's side of the story is not in the court documents.

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.