Federal Inmates in Herlong Correctional Institution Indicted for Assault of Another Inmate

SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that today a federal grand jury indicted Erwin Shane Stamper, 29, of Newport, Tenn.; Grant Morgan Bigley, 24, of San Clemente, Calif.; and Ryan Joel Zejdlik, 34, of Woods Cross, Utah, charging them with conspiring to assault and physically assaulting another inmate at the Herlong Federal Correctional Institution in Lassen County. The assault resulted in serious bodily injury to the victim, who was taken by life flight to a hospital in Reno, Nevada.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Beckwith is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty for the assault conspiracy of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a three-year term of supervised release. The maximum statutory penalty for assault resulting in serious bodily injury is 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a three-year term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The charges are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.