COQUILLE — When jailers first took Henry Cozad into the Coos County jail on March 12, they made concessions for the murder suspect other inmates wouldn’t get.

He got to watch Disney movies. They fixed special food and gave him Dr. Pepper provided by the Coos County District Attorney.

Although he was considered a burden to staff because of challenges associated with his severe mental retardation, the 18-year-old behaved himself for the most part. But not always.

Coos County Corrections Cpl. Kelly Dennis said he had on at least one occasion petted her arms and tried to grab at her breasts.

In April, a judge sent Cozad to the State Hospital in Salem for evaluation. He returned in May.

 Now that he’s back at the jail, his behavior has become more aggressive toward jail deputies, including Dennis, the woman explained Thursday from a witness stand in Judge Martin Stone’s courtroom.

He’s grabbed her chest twice and tried to kiss her. In another incident on May 28, he kicked her and assaulted two other deputies as they tried to return him to his cell after a shower. Since then Dennis said she’s tried to avoid the inmate.

But the situation escalated on Wednesday night, she said, while she tried to give him his medication. She testified she opened a “bean hole” — a small pass-through in jail cell doors — to give him his medication. Cozad attempted to grab her. She said no, and dropped the pills. He then grabbed her arm. He wouldn’t allow her to close the opening, and she needed the help of other jail workers to get away. Then, she said, he gestured for her to come back and made a gesture with both hands indicative of squeezing breasts.

Dennis said at first she didn’t have any problems with Cozad, but as he began to rely on her and she wasn’t always there to care for his needs, he became more aggressive.