Man gets prison sentence for Taser incident

A Culpeper man was sentenced to nearly five years in prison Thursday for attacking police with one of their own Tasers last fall.

Arithiciaca Mandrell Gourdine, 31, was sentenced to 15 years on four felony charges of assaulting a law enforcement person and maliciously injuring a law enforcement dog by Circuit Court Judge Jay T. Swett following an hour long hearing. Swett then suspended all but four years and nine months of the sentence. Gourdine, who also uses the last name Cottoms, was found guilty in July.

After the sentence was passed and Gourdine was escorted from the courtroom, his mother asked to address Swett, telling him that she was frustrated with media coverage of the case and the embarrassment it has caused the family. Swett acknowledged her remarks but did not respond.

According to police and prosecutors, the Nov. 8 incident began as a hit and run, when Gourdine struck two vehicles with his SUV but didn’t stop.

Police arrested him after the hit and run on DUI charges, but Gourdine escaped. About two hours later, police were called to a residence on Orange Road when Gourdine was seen banging on a door.

When they arrived, Gourdine fled on foot. Police caught him, but in the ensuing scuffle, Gourdine grabbed the weapon, attempting to shock the officers and the dog.

Gourdine was eventually overpowered and arrested by town officers and sheriff’s deputies.

“I feel it’s something that shouldn’t have happened,” Gourdine told the court before the sentence was handed down. He also testified that he didn’t remember much of the night in question because he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Citing Gourdine’s testimony about his unsuccessful attempts to overcome substance abuse and his criminal history, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Dale Durrer said that attempts to rehabilitate Gourdine had failed and that it was the court’s responsibility to “protect society” while sending a message to others who might try to harm law enforcement officers.

“If it deters one person, it will be worth it,” Durrer said.

However, defense attorney Kevin Smith argued that the court should consider that Gourdine was not the aggressor, doesn’t have a history of violence and added that the commonwealth’s assertion that he sought to harm the officers was a mischaracterization.

Nate Delesline III can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 110 or .