Two men were arraigned this week on allegations they committed assaults while incarcerated in McKean County Jail in Smethport.
John T. Winn, 33, of 119 Lawrence Road, Bainbridge, N.Y., and Geromia R. Schoonover, 36, of 3225 Route 155, Port Allegany, were each arraigned before District Judge William Todd. The alleged assaults, while separate, happened only eight days apart.
Winn is accused of assaulting a correctional officer on May 24, and Schoonover is accused of assaulting another inmate on Saturday.
Winn is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, first-degree felonies; assault by a prisoner, a second-degree felony; simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor; and summary harassment.
The criminal complaint states that at 12:15 a.m. May 24, Winn started “mule kicking” the cell door. Robert Drake, a correctional officer, went to talk to Winn about the disturbance he was causing, and Winn told him he was upset because he wanted his laundry cleaned. They talked about the laundry issue, then Drake requested that Winn go to a different cell at the front of the facility.
According to the criminal complaint, Drake requested that Winn’s cell door be opened and asked Winn to exit the cell; Winn refused. Drake put his left arm on Winn’s shoulder to escort him out, and Winn allegedly resisted — Winn “undercut” Drake’s left arm with his right arm. Drake forced Winn back into the cell and tried to restrain Winn with the help of another correctional officer.
During the struggle, Drake’s left arm became pinned because Winn was still holding onto it when they landed on the bed, court records stated. Drake felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder.
Drake was treated for a dislocated shoulder at Bradford Regional Medical Center, where he was advised to follow up with an orthopedic specialist, according to the complaint.
At the time of the alleged assault, Winn was incarcerated pending sentencing for a previous case.
Winn pleaded guilty May 16 to charges of resisting arrest, criminal mischief and simple assault for allegations that on Jan. 9 at Bradford Regional Medical Center, he tried to prevent four Bradford City police officers from taking him into custody, caused more than $1,000 in damage to the side of his mother’s vehicle and injured Officer Terry Fuqua. He is scheduled to be sentenced for this case on Thursday in McKean County Court.
Bail in Winn’s resisting arrest case is set at $75,000; an additional $25,000 bail is set in the new assault case.
Meanwhile, Schoonover is charged with aggravated assault, a first-degree felony; simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor; and summary harassment.
According to the criminal complaint, around 1 p.m. Saturday, Schoonover entered the cell of Kenneth Lannager and pushed him, causing Lannager to fall and hit his head on the floor. Then, Schoonover punched him and kicked him about five times until Lannager blacked out.
Lannager suffered a black and blue eye and possible broken orbital socket, and he complained of pain in his left foot, knees, chest and neck, the complaint stated. He was transported to UPMC Hamot for treatment.
At the time of the alleged assault, Schoonover was incarcerated for a pending case in which he was charged with resisting arrest and several summary charges. That pending case has since been withdrawn, court records indicate.
Both men are scheduled to appear in Central Court on May 13.
