Geneva man charged with damaging cop car, endangering child

GENEVA – A Geneva man was charged with damaging a squad car and endangering a child in the aftermath of ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms, according to Geneva police reports.

Patrick A. Cox, 33, of the 600 block of North Street, Geneva, was charged May 14 with felony criminal damage to government property and a misdemeanor charge of causing a child to be endangered, police and court records show.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred shortly after 12:30 a.m. May 7, when officers were called to the North Street residence because the caller said “Cox was not making sense,” and that during the call, “Cox said something was wrong,” according to the report.

TriCom Emergency Dispatch received a separate call from another person who believed they heard two gunshots coming from the area of Cox’s residence, according to the report.

As multiple squad cars were arriving, an officer reported to the others that a man, later identified as Cox, ran toward his squad “and began striking his squad with his hands,” according to the report.

A second officer who was driving north on Edison Street saw a man, later identified as Cox, “running after [a police car] as he drove south on Edison Street. Cox saw me approaching and he began running toward my squad,” according to the report. “It appeared that Cox may have an object in his right hand, however, I was unsure.”

The officer later found three scratches in the windshield on the passenger side where Cox struck the vehicle. The cost for repair was estimated at $630.61 from State Street Collision, 802 E. State St., Geneva, according to the report.

As that officer turned onto North Street, he saw a young girl running from the front porch area of the Cox residence toward the roadway, according to the report.

He stopped, got out of the squad and saw the girl run back to the front porch, according to the report.

“I called to her and she responded and approached me,” according to the report. “[She] appeared to be extremely frightened and said she was afraid and did not know what was going on. … I directed [the girl] to the rear seat of my squad where she would be safe and I seated her in the rear of my squad and secured the vehicle.”

While attending to the girl, the officer wrote that he could hear “loud yelling, grunting and incoherent screaming coming from Cox and I saw he was still moving southbound on Edison Street,” according to the report.

Police restrained Cox after three Taser applications, according to the report.

Police checked the home and found no one else present, according to the report.

“As we were inside the home, I noted that the conditions were poor,” according to the report. “I saw numerous discarded pizza boxes, beer cans and an accumulation of trash and garbage in every room within the residence. I also observed a smoking pipe on a table near the front door of the house partially filled with a green, leafy substance that I suspected to be cannabis.”

Later when speaking with Cox, he “admitted to ingesting hallucinogenic mushrooms earlier in the evening,” according to the report.

Cox also admitted to ingesting Adderall, for which he did not have a prescription, and one or two beers, according to the report.

The Drug Enforcement Agency lists Adderall as a controlled substance, according to its website, dea.gov. Adderall is listed as an amphetamine, which is used to treat hyperactivity disorder, as well as a study aid, to stay awake and to suppress appetites.

Cox was released on a personal recognizance bond. The terms of his release include orders not to take drugs or alcohol and not to have abusive contact with the minor child, court records show.

Cox is scheduled to appear in court July 22 for setting a preliminary hearing.

The most serious charge Cox faces is the damage to the police car, a Class 4 felony punishable by one to three years in prison and fines up to $25,000, if convicted.

Cox’s attorney did not return a message seeking comment.