Mr. K was having an argument with his wife, when she picked up the phone to call 911. He then grabbed the phone, threw it down and damaged it. Police responded off the initial 911 “trigger”, and saw Mr. K in his garage. When he was instructed to exit the garage, he reached for a duffle bag on the ground and Officers immediately grabbed him and escorted him outside with a “control hold”. When they searched the duffel bag they found a weapon.
Mr. K was allegedly struggling when they placed him under arrest and when he was cuffed. He repeatedly stated that he had done nothing wrong and didn’t know why the Police were there. The Police then charged him with Obstruction of a Governmental Operation under Arizona Revised Statute ARS 13-2402 (A)(1), Failure to Obey a Police Officer under Mesa City Code 42-179; Prevention of the Use of a Telephone During an Emergency under Arizona Revised Statute ARS 13-2915 (A)(3); False Reporting to Law Enforcement Officers under Arizona Revised Statute ARS 13-2907.01 (A); Carrying a Concealed Weapon per Arizona Revised Statute ARS 13-3102 (A)(1) and Criminal Damage under Arizona Revised Statute ARS 13-1602(A)(1). We were able to show the Prosecutor that the Statute does not qualify regarding Obstruction of a Governmental Operation while placing a defendant under arrest. Also, the False Reporting and Failure to Obey were fairly outrageous charges given the situation. As far as the Carrying a Concealed Weapon and Prevention of the Use of a Telephone, they agreed to dismiss both of those charges. Mr. K only pled to the Misdemeanor Criminal Damage due to the destruction of the telephone, and was given a minimal Jail sentence of 4 days in Jail. Originally, he could have been facing up to 2 and a half years in the County Jail.