By Kim Smith
Arizona Daily Star
PIMA COUNTY, Ariz. — Another defense attorney is claiming prosecutors and detectives were unfair when they sought an indictment against several corrections officers accused of assault.
According to court documents, Suzanne Crawford is going to tell Judge Michael Cruikshank next Monday her client, Angel Castañeda, joined the fray late in the game and only because he thought he and his co-workers were about to get stabbed.
Back in September, several Pima County corrections officers were arrested after they were accused of beating up four people outside the Buffet Bar, 538 E. Ninth St., near North Fourth Avenue.
One of those arrested (and later fired) was Crawford’s client.
Crawford says in court documents that when you look at video of the attack, it clearly shows that corrections officer Matthew Garcia attacked one of the victims while he was unlocking his bike and corrections officers John Hyatt and Steve Heglund held Garcia back while an unnamed corrections officer tried to calm the victim down.
The video also shows the victim going back into the bar, coming out with a friend and “re-engaging” the corrections officers, Crawford said.
Full story: Another fired corrections officer claims detective unfair