Armed Assault Set For February Trial

David Eugene Richie

A Sierra Vista man accused of holding a woman at gunpoint on an eastside city sidewalk in September, then kicking her and threatening several times to shoot her will be back in court later this month in advance of a 2021 jury trial.

David Eugene Richie was arrested Sept. 19, two days after being identified as the man who displayed a gun while assaulting a woman near State Route 90 and Avenida Del Sol. He remains in the Cochise County jail in lieu of $10,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 30 for a pretrial hearing.

Court records show a man standing at a gas station called 911 shortly after 7 p.m. on Sept. 17 to report an assault in progress.  The man and woman involved in the incident were gone when Sierra Vista officers arrived, but the witness provided a detailed description of the man and the incident.

A man matching the assailant’s description was located by another officer a few blocks away. He was identified as Richie, who denied being near the gas station or speaking with a woman in that area. He also denied possessing a gun.

According to SVPD Officer Ethan Slusser’s report, Richie, 55, was living in a tent at a nearby homeless camp across from Canyon Vista Medical Center. He allowed officers to look inside the tent but did not consent to a search of his personal items.

Meanwhile, officers didn’t have a victim, even though surveillance video at the gas station provided a good look at her when she came into the building after the attack. The video, however, did not show the attack.

Slusser found the woman the next day, and officers took possession of a menacing note allegedly left at her apartment by Richie after the attack.

The police report notes the woman said Richie appeared to be drunk when he approached her near the gas station. He threatened to shoot her when she refused to leave the area with him and then pulled a gun, pointing it at her stomach, chest, and head, matching much of the witness description of the incident.

She also told officers Richie pushed her to the ground and kicked her. She was able to get away from the attack and went into the gas station.

The woman told Slusser she didn’t call 911 because she didn’t know what to do given past issues with Richie. She also noted Richie has previously mentioned suicide-by-cop.

“Due to Officer safety reasons, I did not attempt to arrest Richie at his camp site,: Slusser noted in his report. “It would have been during hours of darkness and the arresting Officers would be accepting an unnecessary risk.”

Richie was taken into custody during daylight Sept. 19 near the area of the assault. He was found to be armed with a black in color 9mm handgun.

Judge Timothy Dickerson of the Cochise County Superior Court has set a jury trial to begin Feb. 23, 2021.