HERNANDO, Miss. — A DeSoto County inmate has been sentenced to an additional five years behind bars for using a TASER on a corrections officer, the DeSoto County District Attorney’s Office announced.
On March 3, John Riles received the maximum sentence for simple assault on a law enforcement officer following the November 2024 incident at the DeSoto County Jail. At the time, Riles was serving a 90-day sentence for violating probation related to an uttering forgery conviction.
Video obtained by FOX13 from TVMO Community News captured the altercation. In the footage, a corrections officer can be seen pointing a TASER at Riles as another corrections officer places a hand on the back of his neck, bringing him to the ground. As the first corrections officer moves to subdue Riles, he sets the TASER down. Riles then grabs the device and uses it on one of the corrections officers.
The district attorney’s office said the corrections officer sustained minor injuries.
“Let this sentence serve as a warning to those who assault our officers: we will not go soft on you,” DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton said in a statement. “We will always have the back of those who serve and protect our community, and any violence against them will not be tolerated.”
