A York County Prison inmate is facing felony assault charges after allegedly spitting on a corrections guard, hitting him in the face and shoulder as he was being escorted back to his cell. Pennsylvania State Police say body camera footage from the encounter appeared to back up the guard's account of what happened.
According to a report from ydr.com, charges were filed Wednesday, Nov. 4, against the inmate, identified as Isiah Sheldon Peters, 29, for allegedly spitting on the guard around 7:10 p.m. on Oct. 1.
Per the ydr.com report, court documents describe Peters backing up and spitting at the guard while being taken back to his cell, striking him in the left cheek and shoulder. The guard told investigators he tried to get out of the way but was still hit in the face, the same report states.
Body Camera Footage
Pennsylvania State Police investigated the incident, and state police said body camera footage of the encounter seemed to back up what happened, according to ydr.com's reporting.
As a result of the incident, Peters has been charged with felony assault by a prisoner on a facility employee, aggravated harassment by a prisoner, and misdemeanor simple assault, the outlet reports. Under Pennsylvania law, aggravated harassment by a prisoner is addressed in Section 2703.1 of the state's crimes code, which the Pennsylvania General Assembly's statutory text describes as a third-degree felony when a confined person intentionally or knowingly causes or attempts to cause another person to come into contact with specified bodily fluids, including saliva, by throwing, tossing, spitting or expelling them. A related provision, Section 2703, addresses assaults by confined persons against correctional-facility employees, describing a second-degree felony when a deadly weapon or force likely to produce bodily injury is used, subject to stated exceptions; the available evidence does not establish how these provisions apply to the specifics of Peters's pending case.
Inmate Already Facing Other Charges
Peters was already in York County Prison awaiting trial on misdemeanor indecent assault, defiant trespass and harassment charges stemming from a case filed in May, according to the same report. That earlier case appears unrelated to the alleged spitting incident but places Peters at the facility at the time of the encounter described in the new charges.
The ydr.com report says a preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 23.
