Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Angel Sandoval was arrested and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon after allegedly pulling a handgun on an officer.
Brothers had already been kicked out or refused service at two local bars
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – Angel Sandoval, 32, was arrested and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility early Sunday morning on a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon.
The charge came after officers had already cleared a scene after Sandoval and his brother were told to leave the area after a fight call at Tuttie’s American Club at 503 W. Main St. During an interaction with officers, Sandoval drunkenly attempted to pull out a Glock 9MM semi-automatic handgun but dropped it, which gave an officer time to tackle Sandoval and take him into custody, according to a police report.
Officers were initially dispatched to the bar at about 12:21 a.m. regarding a fight. Upon arrival, however, no altercation was seen but witnesses advised Sandoval and his brother were involved and had left walking toward Shane’s Place at 609 S. 6th Ave. The witness also said that Sandoval’s bother was armed with a handgun.
Officers located the subjects outside of Shane’s Place and Sandoval’s brother allowed the officer to search him but no gun was located. During the interaction, Sandoval was allegedly cursing at the officers and calling them the “N-word”.
The officers allowed the brothers to leave and both continued to curse the officers as they attempted to enter Shane’s Place. However, the owner of the bar denied them entry due to their intoxication level. Officers then informed the brothers to leave the area and waited until they did so.
At about 1:15 a.m. the owner of Shane’s Place called the police back to his bar due to both brothers attempting to enter. The owner said he would like the brothers removed.
Upon arrival, the brothers had already walked back to the American Club. An officer located Sandoval’s brother outside the American Club and advised him he was going to give him a ride to his residence.
At about that time, however, Sandoval exited the American Club and noticed his brother in the patrol vehicle. Believing his brother was being arrested, Sandoval became agitated and demanded the officers release his brother as he cursed them. Sandoval was described as appearing extremely intoxicated and couldn’t comprehend that the officer was just giving his brother a ride home.
Sandoval then went back into the bar but soon came back out, this time with an open bottle of beer. A bartender then advised that Sandoval had to leave the premises but instead he kept staring at an officer, cursing at him and calling him the same derogatory epithet from before.
The officer reported that Sandoval began to walk backward away from the officer while still staring at him and then motioned to remove something from his waistband. The officer recognized the object as a gun, and in his haste to remove it from his pants in “an upward motion to bring the gun above his waistband” Sandoval instead dropped it to the ground.
The officer then shouted out “gun” and tackled Sandoval. Another Safford officer and a Thatcher officer assisted in securing the gun and Sandoval, and he was then transported to the Graham County Adult Detention Facility and booked on a charge of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon. The Glock 9MM was logged into evidence.
