Accused of sexually attacking and hitting his hospital nurse, a Cheyenne transient could face up to 17 years in prison if convicted.
Johnny Jones, 56, is charged with third-degree sexual assault, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison and $10,000 in fines, along with misdemeanor battery and public indecency, each punishable by up to six months in jail and $750 in fines.
His case ascended Tuesday to the felony-level Laramie County District Court.
‘Inappropriate Stuff’
Jones was in the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center on Nov. 9 for reasons not disclosed in court documents.
Cheyenne Police Department Officer Reece Federer went to the hospital about 8:23 that evening for a report of a patient assaulting a nurse, according to an evidentiary affidavit in the case.
Federer asked Jones what happened.
“Inappropriate stuff,” Jones muttered, sitting on the bed. Jones kept mumbling, but Federer couldn’t make out what he was saying, says the affidavit.
Federer talked to the nurse, a 31-year-old woman. She said she gave Jones some minor pain medication while the man was sitting on the bed.
She then had him stand up to sign his paperwork to be discharged from the hospital.
Jones stood, then grabbed her shirt and tried to yank it down to expose her breasts, the affidavit alleges, adding that he moved his hand down and started grabbing and pinching her breasts.
The nurse said Jones pushed her against the wall and struck her face with his hand, then released her and pulled his pants down, exposing his genitalia.
She was able to escape the room and call for security, says the affidavit.
Cheyenne Regional Medical Center security agents told Federer that when they arrived on scene, they saw Jones pulling his pants up – and they saw fluid near Jones’ bed that appeared to be male ejaculate, the document says.
Federer and another officer also saw the fluid and corroborated that observation.
Federer documented the redness on the nurse’s chest as well.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
