Charges filed against man who allegedly assaulted police officer
A criminal complaint was filed Monday afternoon in Yuma Justice Court against the 22-year-old man who allegedly assaulted a Yuma police officer who was attempting to place him under arrest last week, charging him with four felony offenses.
Christopher Cox was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart, who informed him that prosecutors, after reviewing the case against him, charged him with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of resisting arrest.
Cox was also charged with one count of possession of drug paraphernalia for allegedly having a glass pipe.
“The allegations pending against you are all felonies,” Stewart said.
When asked if he could afford to hire his own attorney, Cox asked the court to appoint one to represent him, saying he has been unemployed for the past six months.
In addition to ordering that his bond remain at the $50,000 it had originally been set at, Stewart scheduled Cox’s next court appearance for 4 p.m. on June 27 for a preliminary hearing.
According to Yuma police, the incident happened at approximately 11 p.m. on Wednesday, after an officer stopped a man who was walking in the 400 block of South 3rd Avenue.
Upon questioning the man, later identified as Cox, he admitted to the officer that he was in possession of some illegal items.
As the officer was handcuffing Cox, he allegedly started to resist and began to assault the officer by punching and kicking him. Other officers responded quickly to assist.
After a long struggle, Cox was eventually placed under arrest on charges of aggravated assault upon a police officer, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest.
The officer was taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and released for an injury to his hand.