A 43-year-old Fairfield man has been ordered held in the Wayne County Jail pending trial after allegedly making repeated threats against a Fairfield police officer during an eight-minute telephone call to 911 dispatchers.
Dustin L. Wiggins of Fairfield appeared Tuesday in Wayne County Circuit Court for a detention hearing on a felony charge of threatening a public official.
The charge stems from an encounter last month between Wiggins and Fairfield Police Officer Austin Russell at a local gas station.
According to information presented in court, Wiggins became upset after Russell allegedly made comments toward him, including calling him a problem or an issue.
Wiggins subsequently called Fairfield’s 911 dispatch center around 1:30 a.m. and allegedly made repeated threats to physically assault Russell.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Wayne County State’s Attorney Kyle Ellis played a recording of the eight-minute telephone call in open court while arguing that Wiggins should remain detained pending trial.
The recording reportedly contained repeated profanity and threats to beat the officer, knock out his teeth and physically assault him during a future encounter.
Circuit Judge Denton Aud strongly criticized Wiggins’ actions, telling him there were appropriate ways to file complaints against police officers.
The judge emphasized that disagreements with an officer did not justify calling 911 and making threats against that officer’s safety.
Before the court issued its final ruling, Wiggins took the witness stand and apologized for his actions, acknowledging that he should not have called 911 while angry.
When questioned by State’s Attorney Ellis, Wiggins testified that he was sober when he made the call. He described himself as a serious person and businessman who operates a local tree-trimming service.
Despite the apology, Judge Aud granted the prosecution’s request for detention and denied Wiggins pretrial release.
Wiggins will remain in the Wayne County Jail while the criminal case proceeds.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for December 3rd in Wayne County Circuit Court.