Checotah resident James Anthony Boyd, 39, has pled guilty to one count of seconddegree arson and one count of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer.
At a hearing on Thursday, May 22, District Judge Mike Hogan sentenced Boyd to 5 years in prison on the assault charge and 7 years to the arson charge. The sentences are to run concurrently.
According to Checotah Police Officer Ryan Goad, Boyd was seen on security video leaving a men’s room at the Checotah Sports Complex where a fire had been set inside a trash can shortly after midnight Dec. 31, 2024.
Goad arrested Boyd on a city street on Jan. 6.
“Boyd admitted to starting the fire to stay warm,” Goad stated in a Probable Cause Affidavit.
While in the county jail, Boyd was accused of assaulting officers on April 6.
The struggle between Boyd and four detention officers began when Boyd allegedly refused to cooperate in being taken from his cell to a lockdown cell, according to a Probable Cause Affidavit filed by Deputy Justin Ives.
During the altercation two of the detention officers sustained minor injuries.
