Cottonwood detective faces kidnapping, assault, domestic violence charges
Coconino County handling Delafuente case

Cottonwood Police detective Cody James Delafuente

Cottonwood Police detective Cody James Delafuente

CAMP VERDE -- A Cottonwood Police detective accused of domestic violence is currently out on bond, court records show.

The case is being handled by the Coconino County Attorney's Office after the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office “conflicted out” said Penny Cramer, administrative assistant to Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk.

Cody Delafuente has been indicted on two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault, one count of kidnapping and one count of preventing use of a telephone during an emergency, court records show. He entered a not-guilty plea on Nov. 6.

Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Michael Bluff is presiding over the case.

Delafuente was arrested Oct. 24 following an investigation of a domestic disturbance in Clarkdale, according to Clarkdale Police Sgt. Nicole Florisi. The incident occurred at the Mountain Gate subdivision, Florisi said.

Police report

A 72-page Clarkdale police report details alleged domestic violence toward his wife. The police report was obtained by The Verde Independent through an Arizona Public Records request.

According to the police report, officers responded to a domestic violence call on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 18, from a woman saying she had been beaten by her husband.

According to the report, when police first responded, Delafuente met with officers on the sidewalk of his front yard and told them his wife had been drinking and she fell.

“He said he put her in the shower to clean her up and he has been trying to clean up the blood on the carpet,” the report stated.

When officers talked to the wife, they saw her face was “badly injured.”

“Her nose and upper lip were swollen and her eyes were blackening especially her left eye,” the report stated.

The wife initially denied any abuse and that she had “walked into a wall” after drinking some wine and taking Tylenol PM.

Her injuries were “not consistent to walking into the wall,” the report stated.

Officials from the Verde Valley Fire District tried tending to her injuries, according to the report. They suggested she go to the hospital but she refused.

The woman denied Delafuente hit her. Officers made no arrests that night.

Tuesday, Oct. 23, the woman arrived with two of her friends at the Clarkdale Police Station wanting to speak to a police officer.

“(The woman) said Cody (Delafuente) was at the gym and she was home,” according to the report. “She said she had some wine, but she remembered the entire incident and she was not drunk. She said she was afraid.”

According to the report, the woman said when Delafuente got home, he was upset that she was drinking and they got into a fight.

“…she remembered losing consciousness twice and he dragged her through the hallway,” the report stated. She said that Delafuente smashed her face against a wall, according to the report.

The woman said a lot of her memories were a “blurr” because Delafuente gave her medication with alcohol to help with the pain.

The woman gave officers three bottles of medication, all empty, according to the report. Labels on two of the bottles stated, “animal use only.”

According to the report, the woman’s friend said Delafuente had assaulted his wife before.

Wednesday, Oct. 24, when Clarkdale police questioned Delafuente, he “was very upset” and expressed “hatred toward Clarkdale police."

When police questioned him about the alleged abuse, he acted surprised.

“Delafuente denied smashing (his wife’s) face against the wall,” the report stated.

But Delafuente did say he grabbed his wife by the arms to take her to the bathroom to clean her up, the report stated. He said that she probably bruised when he grabbed her to pick her up off the ground, the report stated.

Delafuente was placed on paid administrative leave in October, said Cottonwood Police Commander Gareth Braxton-Johnson. He is currently out of custody on $2,500 bond.

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