A man from New York City was convicted this week in connection with a bizarre incident at a sports bar in Colorado that escalated into a stabbing.
It began when 42-year-old Carlos Vega Jr. of New York City went with his girlfriend to the Clock Tower Grill in Lone Tree. On July 11, 2021, a fight broke out at the bar when his girlfriend suddenly licked the face of a stranger, Jessica Edwards. Edwards had recently appeared on “The Bachelor” and “Bachelor in Paradise.”
After an argument, Edwards’ boyfriend, Jordan Hyder, allegedly punched Vega. Authorities say Vega then pulled out a knife and stabbed Hyder in the hand.
This week, a jury convicted him of multiple charges in connection with the incident, including second-degree assault and two counts of menacing.
Vega had recently been released from prison after serving time in New York for manslaughter. Prosecutors are pushing for a stronger sentence, arguing that Vega has a criminal record and did not learn from his time served.
District Attorney George argued, “Once again, a felon who is not from here brings his broken value system and low moral character to our County to hurt someone. Here, Vega celebrated his new freedom- after spending a decade incarcerated in the Big Apple for killing someone- by arming himself with a knife and attacking an innocent man in one of our local establishments. Vega has proven he cannot be trusted to be free without grave risk to anyone he is near. Also, what kind of freak show girlfriend randomly licks a stranger in a bar?”
Vega will be sentenced on Nov. 12. He faces up to seven years in prison.