A city man was arrested on Sunday at an East Main Street residence for punching a woman who had an order of protection against him, according to the Cortland Police Department.
Cody E. Guernsey, 38, homeless, struck the 24-year-old woman in the head on the sidewalk in front of the 7-Eleven convenience store at 76 North Main Street, said Lt. Michael Strangeway. The woman had a full, stay-away order of protection against him, Strangeway said.
“When police found Guernsey at the East Main Street residence, they also found he was in possession of an electronic stun gun,” Strangeway said.
An electric stun gun is different from a Taser as it must be held and applied directly to a person, Strangeway explained. A taser, such as the ones police officers employ, uses compressed nitrogen to shoot two darts that can penetrate clothing and deliver an electronic shock to a person up to 35 feet away, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Guernsey was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon with a previous conviction and first-degree criminal contempt, felonies, as well as second-degree harassment, a violation.
He was arraigned in Cortland City Court this afternoon and sent to the Cortland County jail without bail.
Orders of protection are violated about half the time in the United States, according to the think tank Institute for Women’s Policy Research.
“Several studies show that while the majority of recipients observe a decrease in violence or abuse, roughly half of all orders are still violated,” according to an October 2012 fact sheet by the group entitled “Protection Orders and Survivors.”
