Officer Adam Stoddard Ordered to Jail

A Maricopa County Sheriff's detention officer ordered to report to jail on Tuesday is now in custody, according to officials.

MCSO spokesperson Douglas Matteson said Detention Officer Adam Stoddard self-surrendered at approximately 6 p.m. Tuesday and is now in a MCSO jail.

A judge had ordered Stoddard to apologize to a Phoenix attorney Monday night to avoid jail time, but he refused.

Stoddard was found in contempt of court for walking up to an attorney's desk in a Phoenix courtroom and removing a document from files sitting on the desk.

"My officer will go to jail; we'll appeal it," Arpaio said on Tuesday afternoon. "I'm very angry about this."

Stoddard had until midnight to report to the jail; otherwise, a warrant was expected to be issued for his arrest.

"For political reasons, he was thrown to the wolves," Arpaio added.

On Monday night, Stoddard spoke with the media, clarifying his motivation in the October 19 incident.

I am Maricopa County Detention Officer Adam Stoddard. I work in the Court Security Division of the Sheriff’s Office and have been with the Sheriff’s Office for five years.

Recently, Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe ordered me to hold a press conference to publicly apologize for doing the job I have been trained to do.

Part of my job in providing security to the court is to inspect documents brought into the courtroom. On October 19th, I saw a document that I had not yet screened, and that raised security concerns. I retrieved that document in plain sight and had court personnel copy it to preserve it as evidence in case it was a security breach.

It was a split second decision and I do not regret my actions.

Judge Donahoe has ordered me to feel something I do not and say something I cannot. I cannot apologize for putting court safety first.

The judge therefore puts me in a position where I must lie or go to jail. And I will not lie.

Courtroom video recorded Stoddard's actions during the sentencing of an inmate in October.

In the video, you can see Stoddard walk up behind the public defender and touch her paperwork.

About 30 seconds later, Stoddard calls another officer over and takes a piece of paper.

You can hear the public defender, Joanne Cuccia, say in confusion, "Would you excuse me for a moment?"

That's when Cuccia starts defending herself saying all of the paperwork she got from her client was through jail mail.

"I want to know what they took and what's going on," Cuccia says.

Several times, you can hear the judge asking what happened.

"But you don't get to do that," Cuccia says.

Stoddard had until Monday to comply with a judge's orders.

Cuccia was at the courthouse Monday night as Stoddard read his statement to the media.

With her attorney, Craig Mehrens at her side, Cuccia expressed her shock that Stoddard didn't apologize for his actions.

"I was surprised," said Cuccia. "We came down here for an apology and we didn't get that, what are going to do?" Cuccia said before she was escorted from the media by Mehrens.

Stoddard was required to report to jail on December 1 unless the conditions set by the judge were met.

Those conditions were:

1) On or before November 30th, 2009, at a time convenient for Ms. Cuccia, a news conference to take place in the plaza on the north side of the central court building where he is to give Ms. Cuccia a sincere verbal and written apology for invading her defense file and for the damage that his conduct may have caused to her professional reputation.

2) If at the news conference, Ms. Cuccia does not state that the apology is sufficient, Stoddard will report to the jail on December 1, 2009 and be detained until further order upon a finding that he has complied with the purge clause.

"She's going to decide if Officer Stoddard is going to go to jail on December 1st?  You know what? That's nuts. That's absolutely nuts," said deputy county attorney Tom Liddy.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio responded to the ruling on November 18, saying Superior Court judges do not order his staff to hold press conferences.

"I decide who holds press conferences and when they are held regarding this Sheriff’s Office," Arpaio said. "My officer was doing his job and I will not stand by and allow him to be thrown to the wolves by the courts because they feel pressure from the media on this situation."

Earlier this month, Stoddard explained to a judge why he took the document.

The deputy said four key words on the paperwork made him decide to take it and make copies.

He said the words were 'going to,' 'steal' and 'money.'

The deputy also said he decided to take the paperwork because he hadn't had a chance to search it before the trial.

In a written statement, MCSO officials earlier said their officers have the right to search for contraband.

But the video reveals that the only thing taken was paperwork.