A 34-year-old evidently homeless man has a roof over his head and a bunk to sleep on following his arrest last week in Hailey and his incarceration in the Blaine County Jail.
Apolinar A. Diaz has been charged with two felonies and two misdemeanors after he was allegedly involved in a disturbance the evening of July 11 at the Balmoral Family Community Apartments on Shenandoah Drive in Hailey.
Diaz has been charged in Blaine County Magistrate Court with felony possession of cocaine, felony battery and misdemeanor counts of domestic battery and resisting arrest. He is being held in the county jail on $30,000 bond. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for July 26 at 9 a.m.
Hailey Police Chief Brian McNary said Diaz is a resident of the Wood River Valley, but could not provide police with a permanent address.
McNary said police were called to the Balmoral apartments about 9:45 p.m. July 11, when two women, one of them Diaz's former wife, reported a man was harassing them and refusing to leave. McNary said the women told police that Diaz had either struck or used force against them.
Diaz was taken into custody. McNary said police found a white substance they identified as cocaine in one of Diaz's pockets.
McNary said that after Diaz was placed in handcuffs, he grabbed the handle of police officer Derek Stewart's handgun and tried to pull it from its holster. A struggle ensued that lasted some 20 to 30 seconds, the chief said, before Stewart and Diaz both fell to the ground, at which time Diaz let go of the gun.
Since Diaz was in handcuffs, he was unable to shield himself when he fell and ended up with a cut on the left side of his face and a bruised knee, McNary reported.
He said Diaz was taken to St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center for treatment before being taken to jail.
McNary said authorities are considering a third felony charge against Diaz of "attempting to disarm a police officer."
