Original article no longer available
West Central Tribune
By: Gretchen Schlosser, West Central Tribune
Dec 24, 2009
WILLMAR A 21-year-old Benson man made his first court appearance Tuesday on a felony charge of terroristic threats, and gross misdemeanor charges of assaulting a peace officer and obstructing the legal process. He allegedly threatened and assaulted a Benson police officer Dec. 14.
Michael Jonathan Cox Jr. also faces a misdme-anor property damage charge in Swift County District Court.
Unconditional bail was set at $20,000. His next hearing is Jan. 5.
According to the complaint, Benson Police Officer Josiah Puckett responded to a report of a drug overdose around 8:45 p.m. Dec. 14 along the 400 block of Ninth Street North. He arrived at the home and another man answered the door and let him into the entryway, where Cox soon began yelling at him and became aggressive when the officer asked him to sit down.
The altercation allegedly included Cox pushing Puckett, punching him in the head and pulling Puckett’s radio microphone off his jacket so he could not use it. The officer pushed Cox out of the home, where he attempted to handcuff Cox, who continued to struggle on the ground in the yard.
The defendant allegedly said that he was going to kill the officer and repeated the threat over and over again.
A Swift County Sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene and the officers were able to handcuff Cox after using a stun gun on him.
However, Cox continued to resist and was aggressive to other officers and ambulance crews who arrived on scene. He was transported to Swift County Benson Hospital and was later transferred to Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar for further care.
Others at the home said Cox took an entire bottle of antidepressant pills and said it would all be over in 15 minutes.
They said his behavior was aggressive, that he kicked a hole in the wall and they called for help about 30 minutes after he’d taken the pills.