ROCKINGHAM — A man with a history of assault is accused of hitting a nurse.
According to an arrest warrant, 61-year-old Ivan Stanley Covington, of Rockingham, struck an ER nurse at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital-Richmond on May 5.
The warrant, issued the same day as the incident, alleges that Covington struck the nurse in her left forearm, resulting in bruising, while she was providing care.
Covington is charged with a felony count of assault with physical injury on emergency personnel. He was arrested May 12 and booked into the Richmond County Jail where he is being held on a $25,000 secured bond. His court date is scheduled for May 20.
Online court records show Covington has several pending traffic citations for speeding and reckless driving, and that he is listed as the victim of a communicating threats charge from 2019, for which the warrant was never served against the defendant.
Covington has had a clean record with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction for the past 15 years. However, he has the following prior convictions:
1984 - assault on a female
1989 - assault inflicting serious injury, unauthorized use of motor conveyance, damage to property (Montgomery)
1990 - assault on a female
1991 - assault on a policeman, resisting an officer
1992 - two counts of possession with intent to sell a Schedule II controlled substance, selling a Schedule II controlled substance
1996 - two counts of assault or threat against a government official (Hoke)
2001 - robbery with a dangerous weapon, assault inflicting serious injury
2010 - habitual misdemeanor assault
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
