ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — A dispute over a truck parking space at a Love’s Travel Stop in Bernalillo County escalated into a stabbing on December 17, 2025, leaving one semi-truck driver hospitalized and another facing a felony aggravated battery charge.

Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched around 12:37 p.m. to the Love’s Travel Stop at 12605 Central Avenue NW, near Central Avenue and Atrisco Vista Boulevard, after a caller reported that a man had been stabbed but could not provide details about the victim or suspect. When deputies arrived, they detained 58-year-old truck driver Enrique Solic (also spelled Solis) as medical personnel treated the injured driver.

According to the victim, he had been driving his semi-truck behind the truck stop looking for a parking space when another semi-truck driver pulled into the spot he was attempting to use. A verbal argument followed and later escalated into a physical struggle. The victim told deputies that during the confrontation, Solic produced a pocket knife. The two wrestled on the ground, and the victim said he was stabbed multiple times, suffering cuts to his left outer thigh, nose, under his left arm, and to a finger, according to the criminal complaint.

Deputies advised Solic of his Miranda rights and interviewed him. The complaint states that Solic admitted the argument began over a parking space and claimed the victim had approached him aggressively and wanted to fight. Solic acknowledged using a knife during the altercation, telling deputies he stabbed the victim multiple times in what he described as self-defense.

Witness statements, however, undercut that claim, investigators said. One witness reported seeing the two men fighting on the ground and tried to pull them apart, noticing a large amount of blood coming from the victim. After separating the men, the witness stayed with the injured driver until deputies and medical crews arrived.

A second witness told BCSO he had seen the two truck drivers arguing in the parking lot before the physical altercation began. He said he saw Solic remove a pocket knife from his pocket and start striking at the victim with it, adding that both men were “engaging in the fight.”

Based on the investigation, Solic was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Detectives wrote in the complaint that while Solic claimed self-defense, statements from the victim and witnesses indicated the knife was produced before the physical fight escalated.

BCSO Violent Crime detectives responded to the scene and obtained a search warrant for the weapon. Solic told deputies the knife was inside his semi-truck. The victim was transported to a hospital for treatment; his current condition is unknown, but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Solic was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center at 8:33 p.m. on December 17. According to the complaint, he had no prior arrests in New Mexico, and a Pretrial Services Public Safety Assessment initially recommended that he be released on his own recognizance.

However, motions filed on December 18 by the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office seeking his pretrial detention say Solic has eight prior criminal convictions in California between 1987 and 2013, including:

• A 1987 conviction for possession of a controlled substance (case A815077) in the Superior Court, Van Nuys Branch, Los Angeles County.

• A 1988 conviction for taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent (case A709331) in the Superior Court, San Fernando Branch, Los Angeles County.

• A 1990 conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs causing bodily injury (case 55833) in the Superior Court of Kern County.

• A 1993 conviction for sexual penetration with a foreign object by force (case PA011441) in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.

• A 2001 conviction for making a criminal threat with intent to terrorize (case MA02262701) in the Superior Court, Lancaster Branch.

• A 2008 conviction for vandalism and DUI (case NEWPA05697201) in the Superior Court, Newhall, California.

• A 2013 conviction for possession of a controlled substance (case XNVPA07551401) in the Superior Court, San Fernando Branch, Los Angeles County.

• A 2013 conviction for vandalism (case XNVPA07630301) in the Superior Court, San Fernando Branch, Los Angeles County.

For the current stabbing case, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for December 30 at 8:45 a.m.

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