Monday, June 11, 2012

Federal Inmate at Herlong Indicted for Assaulting Correctional Officer


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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