A Sierra Vista man out of prison less than seven months after serving time for a 2016 arson could be headed back for being involved in a drunken assault that would be two violations of the terms of his supervised probation.
Scott Robert Schwartz was booked into the Cochise County jail Sept. 14 for assault after Sierra Vista police officers responding to a welfare check around 1 a.m. found a man with lacerations to his face and arm. The man, identified as Scott Matthew Miller, said he had been assaulted by Schwartz at a friend’s apartment.
Court records show Schwartz was sentenced in 2016 to serve six years in prison for setting fire to a vehicle during a dispute with a neighbor. He previously served time in prison for a 2006 arson and two arsons in 2007.
Schwartz, 55, completed his prison sentence for the 2016 vehicle arson in February, at which time he began serving a four-year term of supervised probation on a 2016 burglary charge. The court-imposed conditions of probation include “not engaging or participating in any criminal activity” as well as not consuming or possessing “any substance containing alcohol.”
However, a report by Sierra Vista Officer Joshua Humphrey notes Schwartz appeared intoxicated and smelled of alcohol as he admitted pushing Miller out of the apartment and then throwing Miller to the ground two additional times once they were outside. The apartment was strewn with “several bottles of vodka and multiple empty beer cans,” Humphrey noted.
Schwartz was booked into the Cochise County jail on suspicion of assault only to be released a few days later to await trial. The assault charge was dismissed last month at the request of the Cochise County Attorney’s Office but can be recharged through September 2022.
In the meantime, Schwartz’s conduct on Sept. 14 is one of the six alleged probation violations noted in an Oct. 8 Petition to Revoke Probation. Other allegations include the use of alcohol by Schwartz on or about July 6 and again on or about Sept. 7.
Then in the weeks after the assault arrest, Schwartz allegedly failed to participate in alcohol counseling. And on Oct. 5, Schwartz’ probation officer was unable to make contact “and his whereabouts are unknown,” according to the petition.
If the 2016 probation order is revoked then Schwartz would be resentenced in the burglary case, a Class 3 felony. He faces several years in prison based on his criminal history.
Public records show Miller’s injuries required medical attention from paramedics, but he was not hospitalized. Miller, 50, was also cited in connection to the Sept. 14 incident with one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. He is slated for a court appearance later this year.
LEARN MORE ABOUT SCHWARTZ’S CASE HERE