By Tracie Sullivan, For Iron County Today
A man who kicked and spat on police officers and threatened to kill an officer and his family has been sentenced to three consecutive prison terms.
Christian Delaine Thomson, 29, was recently sentenced on three third-degree felony convictions, each carrying up to five years in prison.
The sentences will run one after another, for a combined maximum of 15 years. Thomson was also convicted of two class A misdemeanors and received credit for time served on those counts.
“The Defendant displayed extreme callousness towards members of our local law enforcement. He kicked, spit, and threatened to kill them,” Deputy County Attorney Trajan Evans said in a statement. “Unfortunately, our law enforcement is frequently exposed to this type of behavior.”
Thomson’s case stems from a June 23 incident in which Cedar City police responded to a reported assault at 160 W. 200 South, according to court documents..
Officers found Thomson in the back seat of a vehicle, bleeding from his nose and mouth. He was heavily intoxicated and gave officers conflicting names and birth dates.
When officers asked him to leave the vehicle, he fell into a ditch and needed help getting out.
People at the home told police that Thomson had tried to punch someone after an exchange of words, and that person struck him in self-defense. Those at the home did not want to pursue charges, the affidavit states.
When police tried to arrest Thomson he pulled his arms, forcing police to place him on his stomach to handcuff him.
After he was handcuffed, Thomson kicked an officer in the leg and spat in another officer’s face, leaving blood on him.
Thomson also threatened to kill the officer who wrote the affidavit and the officer’s family.
Police placed Thomson in a restraint device and put a spit hood over his head. He continued trying to spit, managing to reach another officer’s face through the hood.
“We had to place Christian in the wrap and placed a spit hood on his head,” the affidavit stated. “Once he was in the wrap and the spit hood was on his head, he continued attempting to spit at officers and was able to spit on my face through his spit hood. We placed a second spit hood over Christian’s head.”
Thomson was taken to a hospital for medical clearance before being booked into the Iron County Jail. Once inside his cell, he began smoking marijuana he had concealed, according to the affidavit.
Evans pointed to both the violence during Thomson’s arrest and his criminal history as justification for the consecutive prison terms.
“This particular Defendant has a particularly violent history — including previous threats towards law enforcement — making this sentence just and warranted,” he said.