A man suspected of assaulting several women at Arizona State University and who was captured on surveillance video attempting to sexually assault a woman in a Phoenix jail has now been charged with assaulting a Maricopa County employee, according to court records.
Justin Adrian Avery, 29, of Mesa, was indicted in April on 13 criminal counts, including 10 felonies, involving seven female plaintiffs, according to documents obtained by The Arizona Republic. Avery is scheduled for a hearing next week to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial.
According to court documents, Avery was charged with a Class 3 felony count of attempted sexual assault and a Class 5 felony count of aggravated assault with sexual motivation in a Maricopa County jail incident on April 25. The victim of the reported aggravated assault was someone Avery knew to be a county employee acting in an official capacity, court documents state.
According to court documents, Avery was indicted on eight felony and three misdemeanor charges in the ASU incident on April 22. The charges include:
- one count of kidnapping, a second-degree felony;
- one count of kidnapping, a second-degree felony;
- one count of attempted sexual assault, a third-degree felony;
- one count of attempted sexual assault, a third-degree felony;
- one count of third-degree burglary, a fourth-degree felony;
- one count of third-degree burglary, a fourth-degree felony;
- one count of aggravated assault, a Class 6 felony;
- one count of assault, a third-degree misdemeanor;
- one count of third-degree misdemeanor sexual assault;
- one count of third-degree misdemeanor sexual assault;
- one count of third-degree misdemeanor sexually motivated assault;
On May 1, Avery pleaded not guilty to all charges in both cases.
What do authorities say happened at the Phoenix facility?
According to charging documents prepared by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, during questioning, Avery said he attempted to “rape” the woman while she was sleeping at the Maricopa County Reception, Transit and Release Facility on South 28th Street near West Lower Buckeye Road on April 17.
The indictment details how the defendant told officers he “spidered” from the men's waiting room to the women's waiting room at the courthouse to approach the victim.
According to the indictment, Avery's version of events is corroborated by security camera footage and two witnesses. According to court documents, the footage shows Avery crawling alongside a desk in the holding cell to avoid being seen by guards before approaching the woman. Avery pulled down his prison-issued pants and then appeared to try to pull down the woman's pants, and a witness yelled at Avery to get off of her, court documents state.
The charges filed in the indictment match those seen in surveillance footage provided to The Republic on Thursday by the sheriff's office in response to a public records request. First reported by ABC 15The video had no sound.
According to the charging documents, the woman in the video said Avery's actions were unwanted, that she felt someone trying to pull down her pants and touching her buttocks, and that she heard someone say, “Hey, get away from her.”
Avery's alleged criminal acts against county employees were not captured on the video released to The Republic and other media, and it was not immediately clear Thursday what the officers' status was. But during questioning, Avery said he would assault a nurse at the prison and “rape” all the girls if he was released, court documents said.
How do authorities think the ASU incident unfolded?
A charging document filed April 16 by Arizona State University detectives outlined the nature of the crimes Avery was charged with while in custody at the county jail.
According to charging documents, police were investigating an assault that occurred on the afternoon of April 11 in an Arizona State University parking lot in the area of East Tyler and South McAllister streets. There were multiple victims in the incident, one of whom gave a description of the suspect. Detectives arrested Avery after surveillance cameras tracked the suspect in the Hayden Library area of Arizona State University, according to court documents. Later that evening, more assaults matching Avery's description were reported, and Avery was arrested after two victims identified him, according to court documents.
According to the indictment, a woman in the garage said Avery spat on her while she was in the driver's seat, grabbed her by the throat, forced her into the passenger seat and tried to grope her. She then kicked the man in the groin with a steel-toed boot, and he backed away, according to court documents.
Shortly after, Avery walked to another area of the parking lot and approached a second woman who was getting into her car, grabbing the car door to prevent it from closing, according to the indictment. Avery then got in the car with the woman in the driver's seat, kicking and screaming at her before she ran away. At that point, Avery grabbed the woman's arm and put his hands over her mouth, but she shook him off and ran away, according to court documents.
Another woman told police she was walking near campus when Avery extended his hand to greet her and she told him not to touch her. The woman walked around him, then he “poked” her below the waist, according to the charging documents. Security camera footage captured part of the incident, according to court documents.
A fourth woman told police that while they were in the Hayden Library, Avery sat on the ottoman where her feet were resting and began whispering the word “bathroom” about four times. He then touched her shin and made sexually suggestive gestures with his hands and body, charging documents state.
According to court documents, portions of the fifth incident were recorded on the phone of a woman who told police that Avery had “groped” her after she turned down his invitation to go on a date. The woman then threw water from a water bottle at Avery and ran away, according to the charging documents.
During police interviews, Avery admitted to being at the location where the women reported the incident and to hitting the women, court documents state. According to the indictment, Avery said he was just acting on his “desires,” that it “didn't matter” whether the women invited him, that he wanted to have sex with them and that he was “a little aggressive.”
According to court documents, Avery admitted to forcing the first woman into his car, dragging the second from the car and holding her captive, and then assaulting the other three women.
What will happen to the suspect and what is his criminal history?
Avery's next court appearance is Tuesday for a mental competency hearing, according to Maricopa County Superior Court records. Avery had two similar hearings in August, according to court records.
Avery's attorney did not respond to a request for comment late Thursday afternoon.
According to court documents, Tempe police had issued a trespassing notice to Avery at the Mill Avenue store and arrested him the day before the Arizona State University incident for allegedly groping someone's buttocks, and Mesa police added in charging documents that Avery was the lead investigator into at least one assault case.
According to the indictment, Avery has previous convictions for shoplifting and disorderly conduct, and court documents state he was homeless at the time of his arrest at Arizona State University.
Republic reporter Miguel Torres contributed to this article.
