COVID-infected man charged with coughing on 2 Richland officers

A 31-year-old man is in jail after trying to infect two Richland police officers with the coronavirus.

Johnny Angel Rodriguez Jr. was in the back of a police car kicking the door on June 1, and yelling, when two Richland officers opened the door to tell him to stop.

After telling them to hurry up and take him to jail, Rodriguez coughed on two officers.

“The defendant then stated, ‘I have COVID b--h!’ and then stated, ‘Now you do too!” according to court documents.

Rodriguez had tested positive for the disease 20 days before, and when he was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center after his arrest, he still tested positive.

Now, he is charged in Benton County Superior Court with third-degree assault, violating a domestic violence court order, DUI, misdemeanor assault and driving with a suspended license. He is currently being held on $50,000 bail.

Rodriguez was drunk that day behind the wheel of a Chevy Tahoe with his wife and their five children heading back to Sunnyside, said court documents. Along the way he slammed into a curb hard enough to damage the sidewall of one of the tires.

When his wife suggested that their 15-year-old daughter drive, he became angry and started hitting the woman. One of their children called police.

Officers found Rodriguez and his wife in the parking lot of a Circle K on Queensgate Drive shortly after 1 a.m.. They saw Rodriguez push his wife while she was holding a small child in her arms, according to court records.

Two officers put Rodriguez into the back of a patrol car and went to talk to his wife. He started yelling, “Stop listening to their fairytales,” and beating on the inside of the car.

Police later learned Sunnyside Municipal Court had issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear in court in connection with domestic assault charges. And he was ordered to stay away from her.

While Richland Police Capt. Chris Lee said he couldn’t talk directly about the condition of the two officers who were exposed because of medical privacy laws, he said the department has been taking precautions to avoid employees getting sick. That includes wearing masks or face shields and gloves.

The agency is also trying to limit other types of interactions, including taking more police reports by phone, Lee said.

“Part of our profession is interacting with the public,” Lee said. “Anytime you interact with the public you assume that (the coronavirus) is a possibility.”

For now they are following the CDC guidelines and advice from the Benton Franklin Health District in how to keep officers safe, he said.