Deputy assaulted while trying to serve warrants

A Muldrow man is charged with a felony count of batter y/ assault and battery on a police officer after he attempted to grab a deputy’s taser and firearm while they were fighting on the ground.

Jason C. Shoffey, 33, was formally charged on March 24 in Sequoyah County District Court and is now scheduled for an April 26 felony disposition docket before Associate District Judge Kyle Waters.

Sequoyah County Sheriff’s deputy Austin Blackfox reported on the afternoon of March 12 he went to a residence in Muldrow to serve two felony warrants for Shoffey’s arrest, where he was met by one of Shoffey’s family members.

The family member said Shoffey was inside the residence and she’d walk him out but the deputy asked to go with her in case he ran, like he had reportedly done in the past, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Shoffey was found in a bathroom hiding from the deputy behind a shower curtain. When Blackfox asked him to come out with his hands behind his back, he reportedly complied but when the deputy went to put handcuffs on him he began to pull away and face the deputy.

Blackfox commanded Shofffey to turn around and keep his hands behind his back but Shoffey refused to comply, according to the affidavit. The deputy tried to take Shoffey to the ground but he continued to resist and fell onto a couch in the living room. He then tried to bite the deputy’s right hand during the struggle. Shoffey also tried to grab the deputy’s taser and retrieve it from the officer’s duty belt as Blackfox notified dispatch that he was “in a life-threatening incident” and needed assistance.

The deputy said he delivered a single strike to Shoffey’s facial area and then Shoffey rolled from the couch to the floor. Blackfox said he placed his legs around Shoffey’s waist, holding him in place and when another deputy asked for his location, he realized that his radio and mic had fallen off his person. He said he was able to keep his hand secured on his taser to answer the other deputy, but reported Shoffey continued to be combative and wouldn’t follow his commands while still trying to pull on the taser.

The deputy said when he reached for his handheld radio, Shoffey let go of the taser and attempted to retrieve his service firearm but the deputy shifted away from him, securing the weapon. He was then able to place one of the handcuffs on Shofffey’s wrist. The two continued to struggle but Blackfox was able to answer the deputy on the radio before Shoffey tried to grab the taser once again. The deputy was finally able to place Shoffey’s other hand in the handcuffs and notified dispatch he was in custody.

Shoffey was escorted to the deputy’s patrol car and transported to the Sequoyah County Detention Center where he was booked in on his charge and the warrants.

District Attorney Jack Thorp said if found guilty of the charge, the crime is punishable by a fine of up to $500 or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.