Federal Inmate From Spokane Found Guilty of Assaulting Other Inmate

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK—Yesterday, KEEGAN VAN TUYL, 29, from Spokane, Washington, was found guilty of assaulting another inmate causing serious bodily injury, announced Sanford C. Coats, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.

Evidence at the bench trial showed that on December 1, 2010, Van Tuyl, a federal inmate at the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, approached another inmate after they were placed in a holding cell. Without provocation, Van Tuyl punched the inmate ten times in the head and stomped on his head three times as he fell to the ground. The incident was caught on surveillance video and presented at trial. Although Van Tuyl stipulated to assaulting the other inmate, he contested whether the assault caused “serious bodily injury.” Testimony from the FTC nurse who conducted the medical assessment of the victim, as well as the victim, indicated that the victim was in extreme pain following the assault and has suffered protracted hearing loss and impaired vision due to his head injuries.

Van Tuyl was indicted on September 20, 2011. He remains in federal custody until sentencing where he faces up to ten years in prison in addition to the sentence he is currently serving. A sentencing date will be set by the Court in approximately 90 days.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley L. Altshuler.