Man gets prison for taking police officer’s gun during altercation
The man who stole a police officer’s gun during a physical altercation was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution Wednesday morning in Yuma County Superior Court.
In handing down the sentence, Yuma County Superior Court Judge David Haws gave Ralph Sivyer six years in prison, with credit for any days he had already served, for aggravated assault with one previous conviction.
Sivyer abruptly pleaded guilty to the offense in a plea agreement in June after two days of trial. As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped charges of aggravated assault — control over an officer’s firearm, theft, possession of a weapon by a prohibited person and resisting arrest against him.
Sivyer, who was represented by attorney Raymond Vaca of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Office, apologized for his actions in the incident prior to sentencing when he was given the opportunity to address the court.
Haws also ordered that Sivyer pay the city of Yuma $1,714 in restitution.
According to Yuma police, the incident happened at about 11:10 p.m. on June 1, 2018, as officers were attempting to locate Sivyer, who at the time was wanted on multiple felony charges from previous cases.
Sivyer, who police said was a prohibited possessor and known to carry, was eventually located in the 2000 block of South 11th Avenue. When officers approached, he ran to his vehicle.
Officers attempted to remove Sivyer from his vehicle, and during the altercation, police say he was able to get a hold of an officer’s gun and drive away with it in a 1999 black Nissan Maxima.
The gun was a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm handgun. The two officers involved in the incident were injured.
Sivyer, who was considered armed and dangerous, was finally arrested at about 12:15 p.m. on June 21 after a Yuma Sector Border Patrol agent spotted him in the area of Dome Valley trying to sneak past 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 Yuma police by the Department of Public Safety.
Sivyer’s trial was originally scheduled to be held from April 23-25, but it was cancelled after he allegedly held a woman against her will for several days, while repeatedly assaulting her.
According to the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence in the 6200 block of South Avenue 8½ E. at about 3:55 p.m. on April 17 after receiving a report of domestic violence.
Once on scene, deputies met with the victim, who told them that she had been held against her will for four days. She also told deputies that she had been locked inside a trailer and assaulted several times by the suspect, who is alleged to have been Sivyer.
Sivyer was arrested again April 24 on charges of kidnapping per domestic violence and aggravated assault per domestic violence.