Grand jury still has case of man accused of swiping officer’s gun
Tuesday’s hearing in Yuma County Superior Court for the 41-year-old man who allegedly took an officer’s weapon during a physical altercation, was continued until early next month so it can be re-heard by the Yuma County Grand Jury.
When asked to provide the court with an update on the status of the case, attorney Raymond Vaca of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office stated that the case, which was remanded last month, is expected to be heard sometime this week.
A grand jury decides whether there is enough evidence to determine if it is more likely than not that the defendant committed the alleged crimes. If it reaches this “probable cause finding,” then the case can proceed to trial.
As such, he was asking for a short continuance, adding that the next hearing may need to be scheduled as an arraignment on an amended indictment. Vaca represents Ralph Sivyer, who has been charged with six felony offenses, including two counts of aggravated assault upon a police officer. He remains in custody at the Yuma County jail on a $25,000 cash-only bond.
Superior Court Judge Stephen Rouff granted Vaca’s request and scheduled Sivyer’s next hearing for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 4.
According to Yuma police, the incident happened at about 11 p.m. while officers were trying to find Sivyer, who had a warrant out for his arrest on multiple felony charges from prior cases. He was eventually located in the 2000 block of South 11th Avenue, and when officers approached him, he took off running to his vehicle.
During an ensuing altercation, officers attempted to remove Sivyer from his vehicle, but police say he was able to get hold of an officer’s duty weapon and drive away with it in a 1999 black Nissan Maxima. The duty weapon was an S&W M&P 9mm handgun.
Sivyer, who was considered armed and dangerous, was finally arrested at approximately 12:15 p.m., after a Yuma Sector Border Patrol agent spotted him in the area of Dome Valley trying to circumvent the immigration checkpoint on Interstate 8.
An agent followed the vehicle until it pulled off the road on Interstate 8 east of Telegraph Pass in the eastbound lane. When the agent came back around, he saw that the vehicle was unoccupied.
After waiting for backup to arrive, agents began searching the area and found Sivyer about 100 yards off the roadway. He was taken into custody without incident and turned over to the Yuma Police Department by the Department of Public Safety.