another gross abuse of the criminal justice system. this innocent man will be jailed for 4 more years. he was offered a plea bargin where if he plead guilty to a crime he did not commit he would not spend any time in jail. but he chose to fight the charges and as a result he will spend 4 more years in jail! f*ck the phoenix police, f*ck maricopa county attorney andrew thomas. f*ck the police state of arizona. Original Article Man sent back to prison for fight in 2002 Michael Kiefer The Arizona Republic Jan. 4, 2006 12:00 AM Luciano Arriaga went to trial three times and served more than two years of a 10-year prison sentence because of a 2002 fight with a Phoenix police officer. In fall 2004, the Arizona Court of Appeals set him free pending a new trial. He was convicted again in August. And on Tuesday, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge sent Arriaga, 38, back to prison for at least another four years. His attorney expects to appeal again. The case dates to early 2002, when a traffic stop in central Phoenix turned into an altercation. He was charged with resisting arrest and aggravated assault. His first trial ended with a guilty verdict for resisting arrest, but the jury deadlocked on the other charge. During his second trial for the assault, a deputy county attorney told the jury that Arriaga was a convicted felon, referring to the resisting arrest conviction that stemmed from the same short fight. The judge allowed the reference, which made Arriaga look like a repeat offender. In August 2004, the Arizona Court of Appeals overturned that conviction. According to Arriaga's attorney, Chad Shell, Arriaga was offered a plea deal that would have called for probation instead of a prison sentence. But Arriaga insisted on returning to trial. An eight-man jury convicted him Aug. 22 after deliberating for less than an hour. Arriaga has steadfastly maintained his innocence. On Tuesday, Judge Andrew Klein sentenced Arriaga to the minimum sentence of seven years, with credit for 27 months already served.