by On Monday, a man was ordered to stand trial for attempted murder charges after he was accused of purposefully hitting a San Diego police officer with his car.
William Stephens, 65, is charged with driving his Jeep in the direction of Officer Matthew Salisbury, one of the officers who responded to the domestic violence incident at Stephens’ Point Loma residence on January 23.
According to the prosecution, Stephens drove toward the officer as Salisbury pulled up to the driveway, and the officer tried to dodge the car by hiding behind a bush close to the driveway’s entrance. After that, Stephens allegedly swerved his Jeep in the direction of the bush, hitting Salisbury before slamming into a mailbox and another street-parked car.
Evidence presented at a preliminary hearing, which was held to decide whether Stephens will face trial on the accusations, showed that Salisbury suffered a dislocated knee and fractures to one of his legs.
When Stephen’s wife contacted 911 to report that her husband had threatened her and slashed her hand with a knife, officers were dispatched.
Because Stephens had been hired for a federal job the year before, but that job was removed after the Trump administration’s hiring freeze for federal employees, the lady testified Monday that Stephens had been furious in the days preceding up to January 23.
The woman testified that she worried for her safety after receiving a string of disturbing texts from Stephens, which caused her to spend the night of January 22 at her sister’s house.
The next morning, she and her sister went back to the Stephens residence and discovered Stephens there.
According to both women’s testimony, Stephens seemed furious and insisted they leave.
According to his wife’s testimony, he said, “Someone is going to get hurt.” I’m not being taken seriously by anyone.
She claimed that he then took a knife from a kitchen knife block and stated, “Perhaps now you’ll take me seriously.”
She claimed that when Stephens held the knife too close to her, she went up to him, raised her hand defensively, and tried to grasp the blade, cutting her hand in the process.
According to evidence, Stephens allegedly took the phone from his wife’s hand and hurled it on the ground after the women left the house and dialed 911.
During the hearing, many officers’ body-worn cameras captured the moment the Jeep hits Salisbury. Following the collision, Stephens got out of the Jeep, was escorted to the ground by several cops, and was placed in handcuffs.
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Deputy Public Defender Brianne Murphy contended that Stephens might not have even spotted Salisbury and that there was no proof he meant to hit the officer.
According to his wife and sister-in-law’s testimony about his recent actions, Stephens was probably very drunk at the time, the lawyer claimed. Rather than purposefully speeding at the officer, Murphy said her client was drunk, in a blind rage, and attempting to flee the house quickly.
Judge Daniel Goldstein of the San Diego Superior Court disagreed, saying Stephens had enough space to pass Salisbury and the other responding cops but instead swerved his Jeep violently in the direction of the bush Salisbury was hiding behind.
