Man tried to rub garlic on officers, then bit a firefighter. Police found 4 kids in a wrecked NC home
An unusual 911 call about a black magic ritual led officers to a North Carolina home in chaos, where “nearly every piece of decor/furniture had been destroyed,” according to police.
The discovery was made Wednesday in the Hickory Ridge area of east Charlotte, and responding officers report a man drenched in sweat tried to rub them down with garlic and bite them, according to an affidavit.
“Officers received a call for service from a concerned neighbor stating that two parents … were experiencing paranoid psychosis,” an affidavit reports.
“The complainant stated that they were performing black magic rituals, they were burning things, there was loud screaming and that the female parent appeared to have been abused as her face was black and purple. The complainant expressed concern since there are … children who live in the residence with the two parents.”
When officers arrived on scene, they heard screaming and found spent cartridge shells on the porch, along with “multiple broken items and blood droplets,” the affidavit says.
“The front door swung open to reveal the six residents staring out at them. There were the four juvenile victims (ages 14, 11, 5 and 3) as well as the defendant (adult mother) and the co-defendant (adult father),” the affidavit says.
“Once inside, officers observed a house in complete disarray. … Nearly every piece of decor/furniture had been destroyed leaving glass and sharp items everywhere. There were also large knives, blow torch lighters and other dangerous items left where anyone could access them.”
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Gabriel Santos-Funes was identified as the father of the children, and he “began acting erratically by trying to rub garlic on the responding officers as well as a bible, while the mother (Maria Valladares) began speaking fast and irate,” police said.
The couple then began screaming and spraying one of the children with a bottle of cologne, police say.
“One of the juvenile victims stated that she was not okay and was scared to be at the house. At the same time, the father … began assaulting (an officer), by throwing cloves of garlic at him,” police said in the report.
The couple was in the process of being arrested when the man bit a Charlotte firefighter called to the home, and took an officer’s metal baton and swung it at him, according to an arrest warrant. The woman also tried to bite an officer, and spat at them, officials say.
The firefighter who was bitten suffered injuries to his arm, the report says.
Investigators did not report the children suffered any injuries.
Gabriel Santos-Funes, 35, has been charged with:
- Felony assault with a deadly weapon on a government officers
- Felony assault or affray causing physical injury
- Misdemeanor assault on a government employee
- Assault on a female (His wife’s face was badly bruised, an affidavit reports.)
- Misdemeanor crime of domestic violence
- Common law robbery for allegedly taking a metal baton from an officer
- Four counts of misdemeanor child abuse
Maria Valladares, 33, has been charged with:
- Felony malicious conduct by a prisoner
- Misdemeanor resisting a public officer
- Misdemeanor assault on a government official
- Four counts of misdemeanor child abuse
This story was originally published October 23, 2026 at 10:22 AM with the headline “Man tried to rub garlic on officers, then bit a firefighter. Police found 4 kids in a wrecked NC home.”
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