What started as a shift dispute inside a Medina nursing home ended with a criminal conviction in a West Tennessee courtroom, after a licensed practical nurse was found guilty of smearing an adult diaper containing urine and feces on a coworker.
Prosecutors said 40-year-old Sharandal Mitchell carried out the messy assault on March 30, 2024, in the middle of a workplace clash over refused assignments and missed medication administrations. A jury in Tennessee's 28th Judicial District returned the guilty verdict on Tuesday, and Mitchell is now headed for a sentencing hearing in May 2026.
According to WREG, District Attorney Frederick H. Agee said Mitchell was convicted of "assault — offensive contact." Prosecutors told reporters that a coworker had reported Mitchell for refusing to provide care and failing to give prescribed medications. Facility management then asked Mitchell to turn in her medication-cart keys and leave.
Agee's account, cited by WREG, said Mitchell did not immediately comply. Instead, she stayed and counted medications while officers waited for roughly two hours. She was ultimately taken into custody after the coworker pushed her away.
Case Handled In 28th Judicial District
The prosecution unfolded in Tennessee's 28th Judicial District, which covers Gibson County, according to the district attorney's office. District Attorney Frederick H. Agee is listed on the office's website as the elected prosecutor for the area, and his team provided details of the case to local media.
Sentencing Set For May 2026
Per WREG, Mitchell is scheduled to be sentenced in May 2026. The judge will determine her punishment at that hearing.
Context: Health-Care Workers In The Crosshairs
The conviction arrives amid a broader debate over when workplace misconduct and medical mistakes in health care should trigger criminal charges. That conversation flared nationally in Tennessee after the 2022 conviction of a Nashville nurse in a fatal medication error, a case that drew widespread coverage from outlets including Court TV.
Media reports have not publicly named the facility where Mitchell worked or the coworker involved in the incident. Court records or formal statements from the district attorney's office will provide the authoritative filings ahead of Mitchell's May hearing.
