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LE ROCK , US (Agencies) - Former CIA contractor Raymond Davis who was freed by Pakistan after killing two men earlier this year may face felony charges for a weekend fight authorities said started over a parking spot.
Raymond Davis, 36, appeared briefly before a magistrate judge in Douglas County of United States on Monday morning, where Senior Deputy District Attorney Rich Orman said he anticipates upgrading the charges to a felony count of 2nd degree assault as soon as this afternoon.
Davis did not speak during Mondays appearance or on his way in or out of the courthouse.
His attorney, William Frankfurt, told Magistrate Judge Frank Moschetti that Davis had been prepared to enter a guilty plea and resolve the case this morning, but Orman filed a motion preventing him from doing so while the felony charges are possible. Moschetti granted the motion, and scheduled another court date for Tuesday morning.
Frankfurt also said he wanted to address a condition of a mandatory protection order that prohibits Davis from carrying a firearm. But Moschetti said he wasnt inclined to do so especially given the nature of the allegations in this case.
The charges stem from an altercation Saturday morning outside the Einstein Bagels at the Town Center in Highlands Ranch. According to the Douglas County sheriffs office, Davis and another man began arguing with a 50-year-old man about a parking space when things turned physical.
The man was treated at the scene. Davis was arrested and charged with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanours. He posted $1750 bond and was released. Davis first made headlines in January, while working as a contractor in Lahore, when he shot and killed two men he said were trying to rob him. After his arrest, US officials said Davis should be released because he carried a diplomatic passport and was protected under diplomatic immunity.
Davis was eventually freed in March after, in accordance with an Islamic law, the victims families granted him a pardon in exchange for $2.34m in compensation as blood money.
Government officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have said the US did not make the payment. It was later revealed that Davis was a former member of the US Special Forces and was employed by the private security firm Blackwater.
He reportedly owns a security company called Hyperion Protective Consultants, which is contracted to do work for the government.