CEDAR CITY— A 38-year-old man was arrested by Iron County Metro SWAT officers early Wednesday morning following an incident during which the man’s girlfriend was reportedly shot in the back with a .22 caliber rifle.
James Allen Cox was subsequently booked into Iron County Jail on suspicion of multiple charges, including felony discharge of a firearm in the direction of a person and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, along with failure to stop at command of police, tampering with evidence and possession of drugs and paraphernalia.
According to the probable cause statement filed Friday in support of Cox’s arrest, officers were summoned to a residence in Beryl at approximately 3 a.m. Wednesday, on a report that a woman had sustained a gunshot wound to her lower back. The call reportedly came from a neighbor, according to the affidavit.
According to the charging documents, Cox and the woman had been arguing, with Cox accusing her of cheating on him.
At some point, the woman exited the trailer, followed by several dogs.
“As (she) stepped off of the stairway to the ground, she heard a gunshot and felt immediate pain,” the affidavit states. “James quickly apologized and said it was an accident.”
Both Cox and the woman told police the dogs had knocked over the gun and caused it to discharge accidentally.
The woman, who reportedly had a bullet lodged in her lower back near her spine, was transported via helicopter to St George Regional Hospital for treatment.
Later that same morning, officers returned to the same location with a search warrant and reportedly found a .22 caliber Marlin semiautomatic rifle loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition, in addition to quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana, along with paraphernalia used to smoke the drugs.
The charging documents note that Cox was found to have outstanding warrants, including a felony NCIC warrant out of California.
As of Sunday evening, Cox remains held without bail in Iron County Jail.
This report is based on information provided by court documents or law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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