Cape man gets four-year term for resisting arrest

Cortez Bell, 38, of Cape Girardeau received the maximum sentence Monday for resisting arrest -- four years to be served consecutively to a 15-year sentence Bell received for a drug conviction in 2012.

Bell eluded law enforcement for nearly two years, starting in November 2013 when he failed to appear and surrender to the Missouri Department of Corrections. He was convicted March 9, 2012, of intent to distribute a controlled substance, a class B felony. He sold several grams of crack cocaine to a Southeast Missouri Task Force confidential informant, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Chris Limbaugh said.

"The purpose of the state's recommendation of a consecutive sentence was to deter people from absconding and resisting arrest when they're found," Limbaugh said. Circuit Judge Michael Gardner imposed the sentence.

Bell was out on bond in 2013 when the Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District upheld the conviction on the controlled-substance charge.

A surety bond worth $100,000 was provided by bondsman Stanley Clark. The bond was forfeited, 85 percent of it going to a Missouri school fund and 15 percent going into a Cape Girardeau County revenue fund,

Limbaugh said.

Cape Girardeau police officer Cody Farrow spotted Bell on June 1, when Bell was a passenger in a Chevrolet Cavalier, according to Farrow's probable-cause statement.

Farrow stopped the car when the driver, Maurice Braxton, 56, of Cape Girardeau failed to stop at the intersection of Pindwood Lane and Independence Street. Braxton pulled into a parking lot at 2830 Independence St., and both the driver and passenger exited the vehicle, Farrow said.

Farrow recognized Bell, pulled his handgun and directed Bell and Braxton to get on the ground. Bell ran away. While pursuing Bell, Farrow removed his Taser and told Bell he would be Tasered if he did not stop, according to the statement.

When Bell lost his footing after jumping over a retaining wall, Farrow deployed the Taser, hitting Bell, who got back to his feet. Farrow grabbed his shoulder and knocked him to the ground with an elbow strike. Farrow hit Bell with a Taser again before Bell volunteered his right hand to be handcuffed.

When Farrow told Bell he would be charged with resisting arrest, Bell responded: "I'm going to prison anyway," according to the probable-cause statement.

bkleine@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3644

Pertinent address: 2830 Independence Street, Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63701