An inmate at the Westmoreland County Prison was arrested on three felony counts of aggravated assault and simple assault for allegedly attacking a female guard with a chair earlier this month.
Jacquet L. Travis, 38, of Pittsburgh, was arraigned on the multiple criminal charges filed by county Det. James Williams.
Williams reported, about 7:50 p.m. Oct. 19 in cell block D, Travis picked up a chair on the second tier of the unit in the Hempfield lockup, ran down the stairs to the first floor and threw it at the victim who was inside the guard station.
Williams said the chair struck the guard in the head, causing a laceration.
“The video shows the victim partially saved herself by deflecting the chair with her hand. Without that, the injuries could have been much more serious or worse,” Williams said.
Williams said in court documents that the guard was taken to Excela Health Westmoreland hospital in Greensburg, where she needed five staples to close the cut.
Williams said the guard was put in “concussion protocol” as a result of the attack.
Travis, who had his parole revoked in September, was ordered then by Judge Tim Krieger to serve the remaining seven months of a 23-month sentence. Travis pleaded guilty to assault and criminal mischief following a 2018 incident in Penn Borough.
According to court dockets, Travis violated terms of his 2019 parole when he was arrested Aug. 14 by Port Authority Police in Allegheny County for possession of a controlled substance.
Travis has a hearing scheduled Wednesday on the possession charge in Allegheny County, according to court dockets.
On the new charges, Travis was ordered held in the county prison on $100,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing Nov. 6.
