Enrique Roberto “Ranger Rick” Murillo—a veteran and suicide awareness activist who briefly ran for the Fayetteville City Council in 2025—was charged over the weekend with misdemeanor assault of a female.
A warrant accuses Murillo, 45, of assaulting a woman on Friday by “shoving her in the face with his hand,” causing her to fall out of a chair and onto the floor. The Facebook page of Charlie Mike’s Pub off North Reilly Road said the incident happened there, and that Murillo is now banned from the premises.
Murillo’s arrest warrant was issued on Saturday, according to court records. He was arrested on Monday and released that morning after posting $1,000 bail.
Murillo did not respond on Tuesday to CityView’s request for comment.
The alleged victim is an employee of the bar who was off work and having a drink with her husband when the incident occurred, according to the Facebook post.
“What happened to [the woman] is absolutely unacceptable and will not be minimized,” the post said. “Rick Murillo will never be welcome at Charlie Mike’s again.”
A former Army Special Forces soldier, Murillo is known in Fayetteville for his activism around detering suicide among veterans.
In July, he filed to run for the District 5 seat on the Fayetteville City Council, challenging incumbent Lynne Bissette Greene. He dropped out of the race in August after his eligibility to run came into question, and as critics raised a hue and cry about his criminal record.
Murillo said in his candidacy paperwork that he had no felony convictions, but South Carolina court records showed that he pleaded guilty to a felony assault charge in January 2012 and was sentenced to probation.
North Carolina allows people with felony records to vote and run for office, so long as they completed any prison sentences and other terms of their punishments. But if they run for office, they are required to disclose a felony record.
Murillo has insisted that South Carolina’s records are mistaken—that he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, not a felony.
During his campaign last summer, Murillo acknowledged numerous other incidents over the years involving law enforcement. He told CityView he was demoted and kicked out of the Army in 2011 for drunken driving, and since 2011 he has faced traffic infractions and other allegations including fighting, drunken driving, being intoxicated and disruptive, and disorderly conduct. In 2016, a jury found him not guilty of rape.
After Murillo dropped out of the city council race, he made a comment on Facebook in October that Greene interpreted as a threat against her.
In January, Murillo said on Facebook that he was grieving the loss of his friends Daniel and Timothy Nakamoto. The brothers were shot to death at the Mac’s Speed Shop restaurant on McPherson Church Road on January 3 during a confrontation with another man. On Sunday, the Fayetteville Police Department reported that the other man lawfully defended himself and will not face charges. His identity is being withheld from the public.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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