A Willcox police officer is eagerly awaiting a return to duty after a local resident with a violent history opened fire on the officer on Nov. 3 with an AK-47 style rifle. The officer was not physically injured, although his patrol vehicle was destroyed after bursting into flames during the incident which did not end for several hours.
The officer cannot go back on duty until an outside criminal and an internal administrative review of the incident are completed to determine whether the officer complied with state laws, along with city and departmental procedures in responding to a call about Randy Ray Brown being disorderly at a local business.
The response morphed into a pursuit at speeds above 115 miles per hour and then a gunfight, according to Willcox Police Chief Dale Hadfield. No target date has been announced for the officer’s return, the chief has said.
In the meantime, Brown must remain in the Cochise County jail to await trial next year unless he can post a $250,000 cash or secured bond set during a Nov. 7 hearing. He is charged with multiple felonies, including attempted first degree murder, aggravated assault of a peace officer, arson, and weapons misconduct.
Brown, 67, was initially under a no-bond order following his arrest, but his court-appointed attorney argued to Cochise County’s presiding judge that a $50,000 bail was sufficient. Michael Powell, a prosecutor for the Cochise County Attorney’s Office, proposed a $250,000 bond given the seriousness of the charges and the extent of Brown’s criminal history.
That history includes prior convictions for acts of violence and weapons misconduct.
Court records show Brown was sentenced in May 2018 to four years of probation after pleading no contest to two committing two felonies in early 2017 – domestic violence assault with a firearms and possession of a deadly weapon (firearm) by a prohibited possessor.
Brown’s felon status at the time meant he could have been sentenced to prison for 2 to 8.75 years. However, a plea agreement negotiated by the county attorney’s
office and accepted by a judge includes a stipulation that Brown would be placed on supervised probation instead.
A presentence report for the judge notes the 2017 incident started when a member of Brown’s family attempted to remove personal belonging from the home. The victim and a witness said Brown threatened to shoot the victim in the head and warned the two there was going to be “a shootout.”
Deputies who responded to the 911 call found a fully loaded pistol on the kitchen table. The gun had a round in the chamber. The report also notes Brown already had two prior convictions for violent offenses and “exhibits poor motivation to improve his life by the continued involvement in criminal behaviors.”
Yet despite that assessment, a Cochise County judge approved the early termination of Brown’s probation in August 2020 even though it was to run until May 2022.
Powell, the prosecutor, alluded during this week’s bond hearing to another criminal allegation against Brown earlier this year “and now this,” in reference to the attack on the Willcox officer.
That attack began shortly before 4 p.m. on Nov. 3 when officers were dispatched to a local business in response to an intoxicated man using profane language and refusing to lease the premises. Officers made contact with Brown, who agreed to leave the area and not drive.
However, a short time later Brown was seen driving away in his vehicle. He failed to yield for a patrol vehicle with its lights and siren engaged, and was witnessed driving “extremely recklessly” including crossing lane markers and traveling at speeds above 115 miles per hour, Hadfield said.
Several miles later, Brown lost control of his vehicle when he failed to navigate a turn. He was soon located pulling into the driveway of his residence.
It was then, records show, that Brown is alleged to have opened fire at the Willcox officer still seated in his marked patrol vehicle. The gun was described by Hadfield as an AK-47 style rifle, which Brown continued to fire even as the officer attempted to drive away to safety.
The officer eventually escaped the exposed vehicle and took cover behind the rear of the car. He then retrieved his patrol rifle and returned fire with Brown until one of Brown’s bullets hit the patrol vehicle’s fuel line.
The subsequent fire allowed the officer to flee the area on foot. At some point, Brown’s residence also caught fire. Law enforcement officers from Arizona Department of Public Safety, Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Border Patrol responded to the scene, where after a several-hour standoff the decision was made to deploy non-lethal and less-lethal methods to take Brown into custody.
Brown was booked into jail around 1:30 a.m. the next morning after being medically cleared at a local hospital for minor injuries. He is expected to be back in a courtroom later this month.