Sonora, California –– Tuolumne County District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke announced today that on February 26, 2024, Jamestown resident Eugen Colis was sentenced to a total of 15 years 8 months in State Prison.
The sentence comes after Mr. Colis pled guilty to multiple felony offenses including Assault Upon a Peace Officer with a Deadly Weapon, Assault Upon a Police Animal and Resisting an Executive Officer. The charges stem from two incidents that occurred in Sonora about a month apart while Mr. Colis was on post community supervision release following his last state prison commitment where he was sentenced on October 21, 2019, to a total of 13 years for which the state granted him early parole due to Proposition 57.
On July 12, 2023, an officer from Sonora Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a motorcycle Mr. Colis was riding for an improperly mounted license plate and no taillight. While the officer awaited a response from dispatch while running Mr. Colis through the system, Mr. Colis attempted to start the motorcycle and flee the scene. The officer grabbed Mr. Colis’ arm to stop him to which Mr. Colis responded by punching the officer in the face. Mr. Colis was able to flee the scene that day. Ultimately the officer learned that the motorcycle had a false registration tab, Mr. Colis’ license was suspended, and that he was on supervised release.
On August 16, 2023, the same officer learned that Mr. Colis was spotted on Stockton Street near Bradford Street in Sonora. The officer located Mr. Colis and attempted to contact him as he drove up to the area. Mr. Colis responded by smashing the patrol vehicle’s windshield with his backpack and running into a local business where he ultimately attacked K-9 Ridge, hitting him 4 times in the head with a motorcycle helmet and additionally used the helmet and struck 2 more officers from the Sonora Police Department and attempted to strike 2 more.
As a result of these crimes, and due to Mr. Colis also being out of compliance with other terms of his post community supervision, the Probation Department filed a violation of the terms and conditions of that release against Mr. Colis. As a result of the plea and state prison sentence in the new felony case, the Court terminated Mr. Colis’ supervision as unsuccessfully completed.
Mr. Colis also has 13 prior felony convictions for which he had previously been sentenced to state prison 7 separate times. Mr. Colis’ current conviction for Assault Upon a Peace Officer with a Deadly Weapon qualifies as a strike offense under California’s Three Strikes Law should Mr. Colis be convicted of any further felonies in the future. Under current California law, that conviction only qualifies as a serious felony, meaning that he is still subject to early consideration for parole under Proposition 57 and it does not have associated with it the same kind of credit limitation that a crime recognized under the law as a violent felony would have.
For More Information Contact: Samantha Arnerich — Deputy District Attorney, (209) 588-5450
