Pollock Inmate Sentenced on Federal Assault Charges
Career Offender Dispenses “Gang Discipline” With Homemade Shank

ALEXANDRIA, LA—ROBERT R. OVIEDO, age 42, an inmate at U. S. Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana, was sentenced this week by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell to spend an additional 84 months in prison for assaulting another inmate, United States Attorney Donald W. Washington announced.

OVIEDO was charged by a Federal Grand Jury on September 24, 2008, in a two-count indictment charging him with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Possessing Prison Contraband. OVIEDO plead guilty on February 17, 2009, to the assault charge, which stemmed from the June 12, 2008, assault of another prison inmate at the maximum security U. S. Penitentiary (USP) Pollock, Louisiana, with a 7-inch sharpened metal shank. According to information provided by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the attack appeared to be the result of “in house” gang discipline.

OVIEDO, a career offender, has two prior felony convictions that involved crimes of violence and was therefore subject to a higher or increased term of imprisonment under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

U.S. Attorney Donald Washington stated: “The aggressive position of our office on prosecuting inmate assaults underscores the severity of violent prisoner behavior. This office will continue its efforts to deter inmate assaults with weapons by aggressively prosecuting offenders within the Bureau of Prisons.”

Sentencing in federal court is determined by the discretion of federal judges and the governing statute. Parole has been abolished in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan.