9-year sentence for man who assaulted Wash. CO
Jose Luis Acevedo, 39, wrote about the attack, "I was under the influence of a drug I had not taken before"
By Donald W. Meyers
Yakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. — A Yakima man who attacked a Yakima city jail corrections officer was sentenced to more than nine years in prison Monday.
As part of a plea agreement, Jose Luis Acevedo, 39, entered a guilty plea to first-degree assault, admitting that he attacked Officer Edward Opsahl in the city jail Nov. 11, 2021.
"I don't remember doing it at all. I was under the influence of a drug I had not taken before," Acevedo said in a written statement entering his guilty plea. "I have reviewed the evidence against me and have discussed my case with my lawyer. I accept responsibility for what happened that day even though I have no memory of assaulting anyone."
In return for the plea, prosecutors dropped a second-degree assault charge and recommended a sentence within the standard range of 93 to 123 months.
Judge Elisabeth Tutsch set the sentence at 112 months, 11 months shy of the top of the range. Acevedo will be given credit for the time he served in the Yakima County jail since his arrest on Opsahl's assault Nov. 11, 2021.
Opsahl was working at the jail around 4:30 p.m. that day when Acevedo attacked him in a cell. Jail video showed Opsahl enter the cell, which is used to house intoxicated people and those having a mental crisis, and Acevedo coming out of the cell after some movement was seen, according to a police probable cause affidavit.
Another inmate saw Opsahl injured on the cell floor and called for help from the jail's control center, court documents said.
Acevedo, according to court documents, confronted the first police officer to respond, and was struck in the face before being taken into custody, the documents said. That officer then found Opsahl in the cell.
Opsahl was taken to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital with head injuries, including broken facial bones, the documents said. He was subsequently transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He is working toward returning to full duty, YPD Capt. Jay Seely said.
Reach Donald W. Meyers at dmeyers@yakimaherald.com.
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