Inmate man punches Maricopa County employee after attempting to rape woman, documents say

A man suspected of assaulting multiple women at Arizona State University and captured on surveillance video attempting to attack a woman at a Phoenix detention center is now also accused of assaulting a Maricopa County employee, court documents show.

Justin Adrian Avery, 29, of Mesa, was indicted in April on 13 criminal counts, including 10 felonies, involving seven female accusers, according to documents obtained by The Arizona Republic. Avery has a hearing scheduled for next week to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial.

Court documents show that Avery was also charged in a Maricopa County Jail case on April 25 with the Class 3 felony of attempted sexual abuse and the Cass 5 felony of aggravated assault with sexual motivation. The reported aggravated assault victim was someone Avery knew to be a county employee acting in an official capacity, court documents said.

According to court documents, Avery was charged on April 22 with eight felony counts and three misdemeanors in the ASU case. Those charges were:

• One count of the second class felony, namely kidnapping,

• One count of the second class felony, namely kidnapping,

• One count of a class 3 felony, attempted sexual abuse,

• One count of Class 3 Felony: Attempted Sexual Abuse,

• One count of a fourth-degree felony, namely burglary in the third degree,

• One count of a fourth-degree felony, namely burglary in the third degree,

• One count of a class 6 felony of aggravated assault,

• One count of Class 3 felony assault,

• One count of a Class 3 felony of sexually motivated assault,

• One count of a Class 3 felony of sexually motivated assault, and,

• One count of a Class 3 felony of sexually motivated assault.

On May 1, Avery pleaded not guilty to all charges in both cases.

What do authorities say happened at the Phoenix facility?

According to a statement from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, during questioning, Avery stated that on April 17, he attempted to “rape” a sleeping woman at the Maricopa County Intake, Transfer, and Release facility on South 28th Avenue, just off West Lower Buckeye Road.

He told an officer he had reached his victim by walking like a “spider” from the men’s side of the courthouse waiting room to the women’s side, describing the charging documents in detail.

The incident, as Avery described it, was corroborated by surveillance video and several witnesses, according to charging documents. The video, according to court documents, showed Avery crawling next to the detention officer’s desk, unnoticed by the guard, before reaching the woman. Avery dropped his jail-issued pants and apparently tried to drop the woman’s pants, prompting a witness to yell at him to get off her, court documents said.

What is described in the charging documents matches what is seen in surveillance video provided to The Republic by the Sheriff’s Office on Thursday in response to a public records request following an initial report by ABC 15. The video did not contain audio.

The woman seen in the video says Avery’s actions were unwanted, that she felt someone trying to pull down her pants and touch her buttocks, and that she heard someone say, “Hey, get off her,” according to charging documents.

The offense Avery is accused of committing against the county employee was not in the video released to The Republic and other media. It was not immediately clear Thursday what position the county employee held. During questioning, however, Avery said he would assault jail nurses and that if he were released, he would “rape” every girl.

How do authorities think the ASU case went?

A probable cause affidavit filed April 16 by an ASU police detective detailed the nature of the crimes Avery was accused of committing while in custody at the county jail.

According to charging documents, police investigated an assault on the afternoon of April 11 in the ASU parking garage in the area of ​​East Tyler Street and South McAllister Avenue. The incident involved multiple victims, including one who gave a description of the suspect. Detectives arrested Avery after security cameras tracked the suspect in the area of ​​ASU’s Hayden Library, court documents said. Later that evening, there were reports of more assaults with a description matching Avery, who was arrested after being positively identified by two victims, court documents said.

The woman in the garage said Avery spat on her while she was in the driver’s seat, grabbed her by the throat and pushed her into the passenger seat and tried to grope her, charging documents said. She kicked him in the groin with her steel-toed boots, causing him to back away and run away, according to court documents.

Shortly afterward, Avery walked to a different part of the same parking garage and approached a second woman who was getting into her car, grabbed her car door and stopped her from closing it, charging documents state. He climbed into the car while she sat in the driver’s seat, kicking and screaming before she managed to escape. That’s when Avery grabbed her arm and put his hand over her mouth before she broke his grip and fled, according to court documents.

Another woman told police she was walking in the area of ​​campus when Avery touched her to greet her and ordered him not to touch her. She walked around him before he “poked” her below the waist, according to charging documents. Surveillance video captured part of the incident, according to court documents.

A fourth woman told police she was in the Hayden Library when Avery sat on the ottoman her legs were resting on as he whispered “bathroom” about four times. He then touched her shin and made a sexually charged gesture with his hands and body, charging documents said.

Part of a fifth incident was captured on the phone of a woman who told police that Avery “grabbed” her after he asked her out on a date and she declined, according to court documents. She threw water at him from her water bottle and fled, according to charging documents.

During police questioning, Avery said he was at the locations where women reported the incidents and admitted to hitting one woman, according to court documents. Avery said he acted on his “needs,” that “it doesn’t matter” whether his advances were wanted, that he wanted to have sex with girls and that he was “a little aggressive,” charging documents show.

Court documents show that Avery admitted to forcing the first woman into her car, pulling the second woman out of her vehicle and holding her down, and assaulting the other three women.

What is the next step for the suspect? What is his criminal history?

According to Maricopa County Superior Court records, Avery’s next court appearance is Tuesday for a mental competency hearing. He had two such hearings in August, court records show.

Avery’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment late Thursday afternoon.

Tempe police had warrants for Avery at businesses on Mill Avenue and had arrested him the day before the ASU incident on suspicion of touching someone’s buttocks, according to court documents. Mesa police said Avery was a lead investigator in at least one assault case, charging documents state.

According to charging documents, Avery had previous convictions for shoplifting and disorderly conduct and fighting. He was homeless when he was arrested at ASU, court documents said.

Republic reporter Miguel Torres contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Justin Adrian Avery attacked woman, employee in county jail, documents show