A former sheriff’s deputy will spend four months in jail for his role in abusing inmates at the Daggett County Jail. Twenty-seven-year-old Joshua Cox admitted to Tasing inmates in exchange for soda.
He pleaded guilty in September to two counts of felony aggravated assault and one felony count of bringing a weapon into the jail. He was also charged with misdemeanor theft for taking that Taser from another police agency. As part of his plea agreement, Cox will give up his police certification for life.
His attorney Loni DeLand says he’s disappointed in the sentence considering other jail employees involved faced only misdemeanor charges.
“He knew what he did was wrong at the time,” DeLand says. “He’s a big boy. But that would never have occurred but for the culture that was existent in that county at the time.”
In February, the Utah Department of Corrections opened an investigation into Daggett County for misconduct. As a result, state prison officials removed 80 inmates from the jail.
Third District Judge Kent Holmberg handed down the charges. He said he disagreed with the assertion that Cox was a victim of circumstance.
