HERANO Imperial, 37, has been arrested and charged with resisting arrest and assaulting two police officers.
On Thursday, Nov. 25, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho granted the stipulation of the defense and prosecution to reschedule Imperial’s preliminary hearing for Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. in court room 220 A.
Assistant Attorney General Durrell Quarless, the prosecutor, and Imperial, represented by Assistant Public Defender Jean Pierre Nogues, had requested the court to vacate the preliminary hearing set for Nov. 26, at 10 a.m. and to reset the hearing for this week.
According to the parties, the stipulation motion was made for two reasons:
First, it was intended to reduce the staffing needs for the court, the AG’s office, the Public Defender’s Office, the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Corrections because Nov. 26 had been designated by the governor to be an administrative holiday for non-essential personnel.
Second, some other hearings scheduled for last week had been vacated and rescheduled due to the recent positive Covid test results of a court employee. “Thus, in an abundance of caution, the parties would prefer to limit contact, if possible, with individuals who may have had contact with the infected person. Rescheduling the hearing for next week should enable sufficient time to ensure that Covid is not spreading among court personnel.”
According to court documents, on the evening of Nov. 17, 2021, Imperial slapped a police sergeant on the face and kicked a police officer in the shin.
Prior to this incident, Imperial refused to stop even after a police vehicle’s blue lights and siren had been activated after he was observed driving a vehicle with no lights in Koblerville, court documents added.
Police pursued Imperial to a residence where he stopped. Imperial then stated, “I’m gonna go inside and sleep,” before “running off inside the residence.”
A police officer attempted to call out Imperial, but the defendant refused and yelled profanities at the officer, court documents stated.
When other officers and a tow truck that the police called arrived, Imperial came out of the residence and stood in front of his vehicle, court documents stated.
Police told Imperial to calm down and cooperate. But “when they attempted to restrain him and put cuffs on him, Imperial resisted, [causing] him and two other officers [to] fall to the ground.”
Imperial “refused to give up his hand, and became combative kicking and punching police officers on the scene,” court documents stated.
The officers eventually managed to secure him in cuffs and place him under arrest. He was then transported to Corrections where he was booked and detained.
The next day, Nov. 18, he invoked his constitutional rights and refused to give a statement without a lawyer present.
No other details about the defendant were available as of press time Sunday.
Assault & battery and resisting arrest charges are each punishable by up to one year imprisonment and $1,000 fine.
