ROCKINGHAM — A man is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a Richmond County Sheriff’s Deputy.
The sheriff’s office was assisting the Rockingham Police Department on Tuesday in response to a call about a possible break-in near East Side Cemetery when a deputy got out of his patrol car to speak with 27-year-old Garrison Karl Cook, of Northam Road, who was seen walking in the area, according to a press release issued Wednesday.
Investigators say Cook “became irate” and assaulted the unnamed deputy, who received a laceration on top of his head.
While Cook was being arrested for the assault, deputies say they found needles and straws with residue on his person.
Cook is charged with felony assault on a law enforcement officer, and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was booked into the Richmond County Jail under a $26,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court April 11.
The Rockingham Police Department has not yet released any details regarding Tuesday’s incident which included nearly a dozen patrol cars zooming down Broad Avenue and Long Drive.
Online court records show Cooks already has multiple pending charges:
Misdemeanor: violation of a domestic violence protection order; simple possession of a Schedule II controlled substance; simple possession of a schedule IV controlled substance; two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of a half-ounce to 1 ½ ounces of marijuana; simple assault; and resisting a public officer.
Felony: possession of cocaine; possession of a firearm by a felon; maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for a controlled substance; and possession or attempted possession of a firearm while subject to a domestic violence protective order.
The court date for those charges is April 1.
Records with the N.C. Department of Corrections Division of Adult Correction show Cook has been previously convicted on multiple misdemeanor and felony charges since 2008, including attempted first-degree burglary and larceny of firearms.
His most recent conviction was for interfering with emergency communications in 2014, records show.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
