3 Calif. Deputies Injured in Violent Courthouse Brawl with Defendant

A Riverside County man, charged with multiple felony counts of domestic violence, was at the center of a courthouse brawl that culminated in three sheriff's deputies being sent to the emergency room, according to authorities.

Ryan James Chalfant, 31, attempted to flee the Riverside County Hall of Justice after refusing to be handcuffed during his arraignment hearing Friday, Riverside County sheriff's officials said.

Chalfant was facing charges of two counts of corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant with a prior conviction in the past seven years, one count of making criminal threats and one count of false imprisonment — all felonies, according to Riverside County Superior Court records.

A court deputy followed him out of the courtroom, where two additional deputies saw him and joined the pursuit, said department spokesperson Sgt. Wenndy Brito-Gonzalez. All three deputies wound up with minor injuries while attempting to apprehend Chalfant and were transported to a local hospital, she said.

The Sheriff's Office will seek additional charges against Chalfant as a result of the incident, she said.

He was rearrested Friday afternoon and booked on multiple new charges, according to the county inmate log. They include committing a felony while on bail, resisting a peace officer causing serious bodily injury, battery on a peace officer, escaping custody using force and violating probation.

Chalfant was not injured during the brawl but was transported to the hospital for a medical evaluation per the department's standard protocol, said Brito-Gonzalez.

He was initially arrested on Valentine's Day following a domestic violence call and posted $50,000 bail the following day, according to the county's inmate log. During his arraignment hearing on Friday, a judge set his bail at $1 million and ordered him to be arrested.

He is now scheduled to be arraigned, again, on Tuesday, according to court records.

He has prior convictions for domestic violence and was on parole and probation at the time of his arrest in February, according to court records. In 2022, Chalfant was convicted of two felony counts of corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant, two felony counts of making criminal threats and one misdemeanor count of attempting to escape from an officer, according to court records.

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