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Kalamazoo man arrested for assaulting officers, gun theft

Posted at 1:50 PM, Oct 02, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-02 16:46:38-04

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - A 40-year-old Kalamazoo man has been arrested for assaulting a Public Safety Officer on Thursday.

Thursday morning, officers chased the suspect who was harassing and following a 14-year-old girl.  After the man was cornered, he assaulted an officer and was able to get away.

Roy James was arraigned on several charges Friday afternoon, including Assaulting an Officer, Firearms Possession, and Receiving and Concealing Stolen Property.

Officers say that Thursday night at about 11:00pm they were called to a home in the 1500 block of Bank Street after a resident called saying that she had seen a person walk up her driveway and go into her backyard. The officer found James hiding near a vacant home in the 500 block of Terrace Court.  The suspect ran, but the officer tackled him a block later.  James allegedly hit the officer and pushed him off and continued running.  More officers caught up with the suspect in the 600 block of Clinton and took him into custody.

Officers went back to the area where James was first spotted and found a .45 caliber handgun that had been reported stolen from Iowa.  While he was being processed, police say he tried to hide two Taser probes that they believe had been deployed by officers earlier in the day trying to stop him.  The officer who had been assaulted earlier in the day then identified James as the person who had attacked him.