A Tombstone man who was taken into custody earlier this month on suspicion of domestic violence and who then became combative at the Cochise County jail has pleaded guilty to a felony just eight days after his arrest.
Lee Allen Boardman will be sentenced next month as part of a plea deal accepted March 16 for his actions the evening of March 8 at a residence he shares with his mother and stepfather. The plea agreement stipulated Boardman, 38, will be placed on probation for up to six years when sentenced April 11 by Judge Timothy Dickerson.
Court records show the Tombstone Marshal’s Office responded to a report that Boardman had “become angry, flipped the cat litter boxes upside down, and had caused damage to a piece of wood” in his bedroom. A family member told deputies Boardman was suspected of using methamphetamine.
When told he was being arrested on suspicion of domestic violence criminal damage and domestic violence disorderly conduct, Boardman “became agitated, stripping off his shoes, belt, and shirt,” according to TMO Deputy Spencer’s probable cause statement.
Spencer also noted Boardman was uncooperative with being handcuffed, resulting in a felony charge of resisting arrest. But that was not the end of the difficulties with Boardman that night.
“Once placed into the patrol vehicle, Mr. Boardman slammed his head into the plexiglass cage of the squad car several times,” Spencer wrote. “He then continued to do this while enroute to the jail.”
Boardman also reportedly made comments during the ride to the Cochise County jail in Bisbee about wanting to fight with deputies and detention officers.
“In the jail, Mr. Boardman refused to change his clothing with correction staff present,” Spencer noted. “As correction staff entered the changing area, Mr. Boardman sat up and attempted to swing on the correction officers. The officers were successful in effectively preventing what they perceived to be Mr. Boardman trying to actively strike them with his fists.”
Those actions resulted in a charge of felony aggravated assault of a peace officer along with a misdemeanor charge of threatening conduct.
The plea agreement Boardman accepted gives him a felony conviction for attempted aggravated assault and a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence disorderly conduct.
Boardman’s plea was made “knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily” and there was an adequate factual basis to support the guilty pleas, Dickerson said during the plea hearing.
If Boardman violates probation, he could be sentenced to up to two years in prison and six months in jail.
