UNION GAP, Wash. (AP) — A municipal judge in Union Gap, Wash., says shots were fired when a security guard fought with a shoplifting suspect who tried to flee a courtroom. No one was hit by gunfire but Judge Bob Northcott said the Phoenix Protective Corp. guard was bitten on the arm Thursday.
Acting Police Chief Greg Cobb says evidence suggests only one shot was fired but Northcott tells the Yakima Herald-Republic there were two. The judge says the defendant tried to run when he was ordered taken into custody but the guard intercepted him. The fight spilled from the lobby outside the courtroom into the women’s restroom, where the gun discharged. The men reportedly were still fighting when patrol units arrived.
Michael Garza has been booked into jail for investigation of first-degree assault, resisting arrest, escape and attempting to disarm an officer. Phoenix Protective officials declined comment.
Union Gap is south of Yakima.
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Information from: Yakima Herald-Republic, http://www.yakimaherald.com
