FORMER RIDER SENT TO JAIL
Justin Cox had pleaded guilty to assault
Once lauded as a talented upand-comer on the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ roster, Justin Cox’s assaultive actions not only cost him his football career, they have now resulted in a jail sentence.
Last month, Regina Provincial Court Judge Leslie Halliday heard sentencing submissions from Crown and defence counsel after the former Riders defensive back pleaded guilty to two charges: assault causing bodily harm and a breach related to contacting the complainant. Halliday returned on Friday with her decision, handing 25-year-old Cox a ninemonth jail term on the assault conviction and three additional months on the breach. After remand credit, he was left with 330 days to serve. An 18-month probation order will follow.
The assault charge pertains to an incident from Aug. 30, 2017. Court heard Cox and his then-partner, suspecting she was pregnant, went out to buy a test kit. After making the purchase, the two began arguing in the vehicle. The argument soon turned physical, with Cox lashing out with a series of blows in what Halliday termed a “blind and uncontrollable rage.”
By the time the vehicle stopped near the location of the old Mosaic Stadium, the panicked, bleeding and shoeless woman had suffered a range of injuries including a badly broken nose. She fled from Cox, seeking refuge inside the vehicle of a passing Good Samaritan.
Cox chased the woman to the vehicle, then leaped onto it and struggled with the driver for control. The driver was able to get away from Cox and drove the woman to hospital.
Court heard the woman, in a bid to avoid Cox, moved to another province. But Cox didn’t stop there, contacting both the woman and her father in an attempt to dissuade her from testifying against him at trial. Halliday said Cox called the woman a “hater” and a “snitch” and stated he’d “left his mark on her for the next man.”
The woman did return to Regina, her baby with her, with the intention of testifying. Instead, Cox pleaded guilty.
This sentence doesn’t end Cox’s legal troubles. Although he was found not guilty of a previous domestic assault allegation, and the Crown stayed an unrelated firearms charge, Cox continues to face another domestic assault charge, unrelated to the one from Friday’s sentencing.
Compounding problems for Cox is the fact his employment situation means he is looking at deportation to his native United States once his legal issues here are resolved. Court heard he is facing serious charges — burglary, aggravated assault and domestic violence — in his home state of Mississippi. He already has a conviction from the U.S., a trespassing offence which is also related to a domestic situation.
While Halliday noted Cox is interested in pursuing coaching or training down the road, she added his future doesn’t appear as bright as it once did.
Cox was released from the Riders following his initial assault charge, the one on which he has since been acquitted.
He was also barred from playing anywhere within the CFL.