Former Greensburg man accused of assaulting jail guards

A former Greensburg man is accused of hitting three Westmoreland County Prison guards in the face and biting their hands during a scuffle last November, authorities said.

The suspect, Esteban Ortiz Sosa, 37, whose current address is listed on court documents as the state prison at Camp Hill, allegedly injured the guards while being disciplined at the county jail in Hempfield on Nov. 24, 2018, according to the criminal complaint filed by Westmoreland County Detective James Williams.

Williams stated the alleged incident occurred while Officer Ryan Mathias and a fellow guard, Eric Schrock, were searching for the drug Suboxone in the unit where Sosa was incarcerated. Officers allegedly found in his cell a pill, Cymbalta, which is used to treat depression and anxiety.

When Sosa was removed to a disciplinary cell, Williams stated that Sosa resisted the guards’ orders to strip down and started kicking and screaming as they placed shackles on him.

During the incident, Sosa allegedly hit Mathias and bit his thumb, drawing blood, according to the criminal complaint. Shrock allegedly was bit in the finger, punched and headbutted by Sosa. The suspect also is accused of injuring Officer Mark Giaquinto’s hand and of threatening Sgt. Shawna Ravetto by saying, “You wait until you take these handcuffs off me.”

Sosa was charged on July 30 before Hempfield District Judge Mark Mansour with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of simple assault on Mathias; with aggravated and simple assault on Schrock and Giaquinto; and terroristic threats on Ravetto.

Sosa is scheduled for an arraignment Monday before Mansour and a preliminary hearing on Sept. 6.

In November 2018, Sosa pleaded guilty to strangulation before Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani and sentenced to 18-to-36-months in jail. He was arrested by Greensburg police on Jan. 1, 2018, for the strangulation.