Suspect in assault of girls back in jail
A felon who allegedly stripped naked on a Spokane street and assaulted two young girls in front of a police officer was in the county jail Wednesday night – where authorities have had trouble keeping him.
Rodney Eugene Cormier, 32, has been in and out of jail since his arrest Aug. 15 on suspicion of assaulting a 13-year-old girl and her 12-year-old sister as they walked along Crestline Street near Everett Avenue.
Police said the alleged assaults appeared to have been sexually motivated.
Officer Jason Curtis was dispatched to a report of a naked man and reportedly found Cormier walking in the middle of Crestline.
Curtis reported that he turned on his flashing lights, but Cormier ignored him and approached two young girls.
Officer Sue Mann, who later took the girls’ statements, said their 5-year-old brother had been riding his bicycle beside them, but “the girls told him to ride his bike really fast and get away.”
Then, according to Curtis, the naked Cormier grabbed the boy’s 13-year-old sister. She hit and kicked Cormier several times and got away, but Cormier then grabbed her 12-year-old sister, Curtis reported.
He said Cormier held the girl by her bathing suit and her breast, bent her over a fence and bit her shoulder while “growling” at her. Curtis said he wrestled Cormier to the ground, and Cormier dragged the girl down with them.
The girl wasn’t able to get free until a passer-by assisted Curtis, according to the officer’s report.
Detective Corey Turman said in an affidavit that Cormier later told him he had been high on the hallucinogenic drug PCP and couldn’t remember what happened.
In addition to an extensive misdemeanor record, Cormier was convicted in 1992 of voluntary manslaughter in Los Angeles. His Spokane County felony convictions include drug possession in 1997, domestic assault in 2000 and third-degree assault in 2002.
In the 2002 case, Cormier punched a police officer who was trying to arrest him on suspicion of methamphetamine possession. Documents in that case describe Cormier as “a confirmed gang member.”
Court records indicate a clerical error and confusion from multiple charges may have helped create a revolving door for Cormier since his latest arrest on Aug. 15.
According to jail records, Cormier bonded out on Aug. 16, was booked again on Aug. 22, was released again on Aug. 23 when prosecutors failed to show probable cause, and was booked again Saturday.
In addition to Spokane Municipal Court charges of indecent exposure and obstructing an officer, Cormier now is charged in Spokane County District Court with two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of unlawful imprisonment.
District Court Judge Sara Derr set bail at $30,000 Tuesday on the District Court charges, and Cormier was being held Wednesday in lieu of a total of $50,000 on all charges.