GRAHAM – On Tuesday, a deputy was dispatched to the Graham County Jail to inquire about the attempted escape of an inmate, identified as Cynthia Valdez, from the Courthouse. The incident had occurred earlier that day.
Three female incarcerated inmates had been transported to the Courthouse around 8:40 am that morning. After their proceedings ended at about 11:00 am the inmates, wearing shackles and handcuffs, exited the courthouse with their detention officer. One of the inmates accidentally started heading towards the wrong transport car. The detention officer clarified the correct vehicle and the inmate apologized for getting confused about which transport car was the correct one. When the inmates began to enter the vehicle, Valdez attempted to run towards the Court Street Apartments but couldn’t run very fast in her shackles. The detention officer ran after Valdez while yelling for her to stop. The two fell to the ground as the officer grabbed onto Valdez.
The officer told investigators that she was pretty sure Valdez tripped over her shackles. The officer helped Valdez up off the ground. When Valdez was asked why she had ran, she stated she was not used to being incarcerated, and she “guessed” she just got scared. After getting the inmates into the transport vehicle, the officer was clearly hurt while driving back to the jail. The detention officer went to the Mount Graham Regional Medical Center ER for her injuries where she was treated and released.
The report was requested to be reviewed by the county attorney.
