Men Charged in Attack Paralyzing Okla. Officer
An oil-field worker and two friends were charged Friday in connection with a bar fight that partially paralyzed an off-duty Oklahoma City police officer.
The three men were charged in Oklahoma County District Court with maiming and conspiracy to commit assault and battery upon a police officer. They face up to 17 years in prison each if convicted of both felony counts.
Joshua B. Rinken, 28, of Norman; Jimmy Dan Smith, 28, of Tuttle; and Cadmio Antonio Lopez, 31, of Newcastle, remain in the Oklahoma County jail. Bail is denied.
They are accused in the maiming count of hitting officer Chad Peery repeatedly with their fists in the face, "causing a broken neck, paralyzing him from his shoulders down." They are accused in the conspiracy count of agreeing among themselves to assault the police officer.
Peery, 34, was hurt late Feb. 15 as he escorted the men out of Dan O'Brien's Public House in northwest Oklahoma City. Employees who knew Peery was a police officer sought his help because of a disturbance inside the bar.
Peery can speak and bend his arms, prosecutor Scott Rowland said. He also has feelings on the top of his hands and the bottom of his feet. He remains hospitalized.
His mother, Jan Peery, said Thursday, "He's a fighter. He's courageous. And he's going to work through whatever he needs to."
Police said Rinken, the oil-field worker, started the fight, hitting the officer in the face at the doorway of the bar. The beginning of the assault was recorded by a surveillance camera.
Witnesses said Smith and Rinken punched the officer while Lopez kept others from interceding, police reported. Rinken is seen at one point holding the obviously unconscious officer from behind and in an upright position, police reported.
"Rinken is then seen dropping or throwing Officer Peery down to the ground," police reported.
Police said all three men knew Peery was a police officer before the assault. Police said Lopez "admitted to holding other people back so Rinken could have a fair fight with Peery."
Rinken was the first of the three men to challenge the denial of bail. Oklahoma County District Judge Ray C. Elliott refused to allow his release.
"I think the evidence overall screams out this answer -- anyone he comes in contact with is a potential victim," the judge said at the end of a bail hearing Friday.
Testimony at hearing
The problems at Dan O'Brien's on Feb. 15 began after Rinken tried to get a woman to kiss him, pinning her at one point against a wall, according to testimony Friday. She told a male friend who reported it to bar employees.
According to testimony and police reports put into evidence during the hearing, Rinken has been in other fights, uses steroids and once told an ex-girlfriend he loved trouble and wasn't scared of jail.
Police reported finding 52 steroid pills and five empty beer cans in Rinken's Ford truck when he was arrested at a different bar after the attack.
One ex-girlfriend sought a victim's protective order against him in 2009, saying he had hit her in the past and was threatening to beat up her new boyfriend. Sarah Harris wrote in her request for a protective order that Rinken said to her: "It's gonna be fun. Relay that."
Another ex-girlfriend reported to Oklahoma City police last September that Rinken was making rude and threatening phone calls to her. She told police "she is very afraid ... because he carries a ... pistol ... is a heavy steroid user (and) will go into rages," according to a police report.
Rinken was arrested in January 2009 in Moore, according to another police report. A customer at Buffalo Wild Wings in Moore said Rinken began cursing at him for no reason, then struck him in the face and left the bar, police reported.
Supporters of Rinken wrote affidavits on his behalf. A Minco pastor, Aaron Warren, wrote Rinken is a great father and provider to his two sons.
"To a pastor, this shows me a young, responsible man. Other characteristics that I have seen in Josh's life are a loving, joyous and kind nature," the pastor wrote.