SACRAMENTO, CA—A federal grand jury
returned a single-count indictment today charging Leonard Griffin, 42,
currently housed at the United States Federal Correctional Institute in
Herlong, with assaulting a correctional officer and possessing contraband in prison
United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to the indictment, on December
3, 2011, Griffin assaulted a federal correctional officer—who is an employee of
the United States engaged in official duties—and did inflict bodily injury.
During the assault, Griffin used a lock tucked into a sock, commonly known in
prison parlance as a “lock in a sock.”
This case is the product of an
investigation by the United States Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Reardon is prosecuting the
case.
The maximum statutory penalty for
assaulting an officer or employee of the United States engaged in the
performance of their duties is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a
three-year term of supervised release. The maximum statutory penalty for
possessing a contraband weapon in a federal prison is up to five years in
prison, a $250,000 fine, and a three-year term of supervised release. Under
law, any sentence imposed for possessing contraband in prison must run
consecutive to any sentence currently being served. The actual sentence, if
convicted, will be determined at the discretion of the court after
consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing
Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges are only allegations, and
the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt.
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