Inmate At United States Penitentiary At Canaan Charged With Assaulting Fellow Inmate

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that yesterday a grand jury in Scranton indicted a federal inmate at the United States Penitentiary at Canaan for assaulting another inmate.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the indictment charges Brandon Shields, age 33, formerly of Philadelphia, with assaulting another inmate with a homemade weapon on January 7, 2016.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Service 

Prosecution has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara          

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

In this case, the maximum penalty which can be imposed under federal law is 10 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine.

Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

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