Former Mancos Marshal John Cox pleaded guilty Tuesday in La Plata County Court to his second drunken driving offense.
Cox, 55, faces 10 days in jail or home-detention monitoring after signing a plea agreement with the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Judge Martha Minot can sentence Cox to a split of jail time and home-detention monitoring upon sentencing, which is set for 11 a.m. April 26.
Cox was involved in a single-vehicle crash about 11:10 p.m. Nov. 10 near Cherry Creek subdivision and the La Plata-Montezuma county line.
Cox, who was off-duty at the time, lost control of his 2003 white Ford F-150 pickup and slid into a guardrail. He was taken to the Durango Police Department for a breath test and charged with drunken driving, careless driving and no proof of insurance. He was released to a sober person.
The Colorado State Patrol and the District Attorney’s Office declined to release the former officer’s blood-alcohol content Tuesday, saying they wanted to wait until after sentencing.
Cox was convicted in 2009 in Indianapolis while working as a police chief for a county school system. He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.09 percent, according to media outlets.
In addition to his drunken driving violations, Cox is accused of second-degree perjury, false reporting to authorities and second-degree misconduct in connection with two separate incidents last year.
In the first case, he is accused of using law enforcement equipment to conduct a personal investigation into a romantic rival. More specifically, he ran the licence plate of a woman’s boyfriend.
In the second incident, he’s suspected of citing a woman for driving 45 mph in a 25 mph zone. He claimed to have caught her on radar, even though he was sitting in a coffee shop when the driver whizzed by.
A hearing on those charges has been set for 10 a.m. March 24 in 22nd Judicial District Court in Cortez.
Cox was hired as a deputy marshal in August 2012 and promoted in April 2013. He was placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 4 and has since resigned.
In addition to facing 10 days in jail, Cox must complete 56 hours of community service and serve two years on probation for his latest drunken driving conviction.
shane@durangoherald.com
