Suspect In Chandler Stabbings Set To Return To Cochise County For Molestation Case

A Sierra Vista man recently indicted in Maricopa County on charges of stabbing three men at a Chandler mall in March is headed back to Cochise County this month for a hearing on child molestation charges filed against him last summer.

Andrew Ryan Courtney is charged in Maricopa County after three men were stabbed with a folding-style knife during an altercation between two groups on March 12. He was arrested at his home in Sierra Vista and transported to the Maricopa County jail on four counts of aggravated assault; records show one of the men was stabbed twice.

Last week Courtney, 24, appeared in a Maricopa County courtroom for an initial pretrial conference on the aggravated assault charges. His next scheduled hearing in that case is a June 28 pretrial conference but Courtney is not required to appear in person, a judge ruled.

Which is a good thing, as a writ has been issued to transfer Courtney back to Cochise County for a June 14 hearing to set a trial date for his 2020 molestation case. But no matter which jail Courtney is in, he cannot be released due to a no-bail order issued by a judge in the molestation case.

Courtney came under investigation July 11, 2020 when the mother of a 14-year-old girl found him in hiding in the girl’s closet. He reportedly ran from the residence wearing one shoe and a pair of the girl’s underwear. DNA evidence and other items were recovered from the girl’s phone and room, as well as Courtney’s car.

In October 2020, Courtney was released from jail on a $100,000 bond to await trial on the molestation charges, two of which fall under Arizona’s dangerous crimes against children statute.

The prosecutor in the Maricopa County case filed four notices last week, including one about Courtney’s criminal history. Another notice pointed out that under Arizona’s sentencing statutes Courtney could face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of molestation and then convicted of aggravated assault.