A Douglas man has been ordered to serve three years of intensive supervised probation after pleading guilty to biting a detention officer while being booked into the Cochise County jail back earlier this year.
Alfonso Raul Garcia pleaded guilty to a Class 6 felony of attempted aggravated assault in which he admits biting into the left hand of the sheriff’s office employee on July 5 after “being resistant, yelling and screaming,” during a strip search. He was being booked into the jail following his arrest by the Douglas Police Department for disorderly conduct.
At the time of the biting incident, Garcia was out of custody awaiting sentencing for a February shoplifting incident. Two weeks Garcia, 28, stood before Judge Timothy Dickerson to be sentenced on the shoplifting charge, which was bumped to a Class 4 felony as it was Garcia’s third such charge in five years.
Dickerson imposed a four-year term of intensive probation in the shoplifting case. Then when Garcia pleaded guilty in the assault case, the judge had discretion to impose a sentence of up to two years in state prison.
Instead, Dickerson followed the recommendation in an Adult Probation Department presentence report which called for intensive probation in the assault case as well.
“Based upon the risk/needs, the nature and circumstances of the offense, and the history and characteristics of the defendant, Intensive probation is considered appropriate to provide the defendant with needed community-based correctional treatment in the most effective manner,” the presentence report states. “It should be noted that IPS is not being recommended as a punitive measure, but as a means to increase the defendant’s chances of success on probation.”
The judge also ordered the two probation terms served concurrently, meaning once Garcia completes the three years for the bite assault he will have one year of probation left in the shoplifting case.
Public records show Garcia has several convictions in Cochise County for felony offenses dating back to 2011, including multiple counts of burglary and shoplifting. He also has a 2016 conviction for sexual conduct with a minor for which Garcia registered as a Level 3 sex offender after serving one year in state prison.
