PHOENIX -- A Maricopa County sheriff's deputy says he won't lie and he won't apologize.
Now it's up to the judge to determine if he'll go to jail.
In October, Deputy Adam Stoddard was caught on surveillance video removing a paper from a defense attorney's file.
Judge Gary Donahoe held Stoddard in contempt of court for the action and ordered him to apologize or go to jail.
Stoddard held a press conference Monday night, but instead of apologizing Stoddard said he did nothing wrong.
According to his lawyer, Tom Liddy, Stoddard does not plan on going to jail.
The defense attorney, Joanne Cuccia, was at the press conference and said she is saddened by Stoddard's refusal to apologize.
Detention Officer Adam Stoddard issued the following statement via the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department:
I am Maricopa County Detention Officer Adam Stoddard. I work in the Court Security Division of the Sheriff’s Office and have been with the Sheriff’s Office for five years.
Recently, Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe ordered me to hold a press conference to publicly apologize for doing the job I have been trained to do.
Part of my job in providing security to the court is to inspect documents brought into the courtroom. On October 19th, I saw a document that I had not yet screened, and that raised security concerns. I retrieved that document in plain sight and had court personnel copy it to preserve it as evidence in case it was a security breach.
It was a split second decision and I do not regret my actions.
Judge Donahoe has ordered me to feel something I do not and say something I cannot. I cannot apologize for putting court safety first.
The judge therefore puts me in a position where I must lie or go to jail. And I will not lie.
