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GREENSBORO — After a two-day trial and a saga that left him suspended for more than six months, police officer A.J. Blake has been cleared of charges he assaulted two women.

A six-man, six-woman jury in Guilford County Superior Court on Wednesday found him not guilty of two charges of misdemeanor assault on a female.

“A jury had a chance to hear the entire case, and the truth came out,” Blake said. “This should have happened a long time ago.”

Blake was suspended without pay from the police department after an incident at a private party at the Greensboro Police Club on Jan. 17. He was fired July 20 after an administrative hearing.

Blake appealed the firing and plans to take that appeal — with the weight of the not-guilty verdict — to the city manager’s office with the hopes of being reinstated.

Interim City Manager Bob Morgan said he would abide by city policy in hearing Blake’s appeal to keep his job.

“I have to review the record and follow up with questions as I have to,” Morgan said.

Morgan said policy mandates a final decision within 20 days after an appeal is filed.

The trial came down to varying witness accounts made to the jury about the party. Blake and others have admitted the night was filled with heavy drinking, which led to an argument between Blake and fiancée Sandra Sanchez.

Detectives charged Blake with two counts of assault on a female, alleging he kicked Sanchez as they left the party after midnight. The couple had argued over jealousy issues and Blake testified Tuesday that he tried to break up with Sanchez during their fight.

In testimony Wednesday, Sanchez said that as the argument spilled into the parking lot, the heel of one of her stiletto boots stuck on a wooden surface. She began to stumble but did not fall.

She testified that Blake was 4 to 5 feet behind and never touched her. But the girlfriend of another officer, Lorraine Galloway, testified Tuesday that she saw Blake kick Sanchez.

Galloway said she intervened, then Blake shoved her by the neck near the club’s doorway. Blake maintained he pushed Galloway with an open hand between her neck and sternum, a police maneuver used to create distance between another person.

After the incident, Blake admitted he kicked Sanchez’s car and broke his cell phone. After Blake was not able to obtain a ride, Sanchez testified, she drove him home.

Besides Sanchez, the defense questioned Detective J.M. Schwochow, who investigated the incidents, and crime scene analyst K.D. Leonard.

Schwochow testified that he brought the assault charge against Blake in relation to Galloway on Jan. 17, based on physical evidence of an assault, which included redness around Galloway’s neck. He and Leonard testified they found no signs of physical injury to Sanchez.

Schwochow testified he did not think assault charges were justified against Blake for assaulting Sanchez. He indicated he was ordered to file the charge Feb. 7 by a supervisor after a recommendation by the Guilford County District Attorney’s Office.

Blake was found guilty on both assault charges in March in Guilford County District Court but appealed, which led to the jury trial. Had the conviction stood, Blake could have lost his state certification as a police officer.

Blake, who is Latino, has made allegations that the case against him stemmed from a history of racial prejudice within the police department and because of his concerns the gang unit, to which he was assigned, harassed Latino gangs.

“(The verdict) reiterates the point of the problems with the police department,” Blake said Wednesday.

The police department has denied all allegations of racial bias. Police Chief Tim Bellamy said as far as the department is concerned, Blake’s administrative process is complete.

“He was given his due process in both district court and Superior Court and with the police department hearing,” Bellamy said. “He now has a process where he can appeal to the city manager’s office.”

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com