Times Record News
WICHITA FALLS, Texas — A 29-year-old Wichita County Jail inmate stands trial this week, accused of stabbing two detention officers with a self-made weapon during an alleged 2009 escape attempt.
Ronnie Jraun Otems Jr. was in a Wichita County courtroom presided over by 89th District Court Judge Mark Price on Monday.
Otems was indicted on several charges stemming from the alleged September 2009 incident.
Those charges included two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant and one count of attempted aggravated assault. He also faces charges of possessing a deadly weapon in a penal institution and escape while arrested/confined.
A previous Times Record News article described the events that allegedly took place while Otems was housed at the jail annex.
Otems was a transfer from the Allred Prison Unit at the time of this incident. His transfer was the r esult o f a d ifferent case stemming from an assault on a public servant at the prison. Investigators allege Otems dismantled part of his cell while in solitary confinement and fashioned weapons by sharpening three long, steel screws. He allegedly tied the weapons to his hands, then climbed out of his cell and into a pipe chase about 1:15 a.m.
From there, Otems was able to switch off an electrical breaker, turning the lights out in half of the facility, investigators said.
Patrol deputies and Wichita Falls Police officers were called to set up a perimeter around the jail annex, while inside Otems allegedly continued his escape attempt.
Detention Officer Samuel Hankins was picking up cleaning supplies when the power went out. He and fellow officer Michael Bonnin headed to the solitary cells equipped with flashlights.
Hankins told investigatorshesaw a shirtless man standing near a doorway.
“Before he could do or say anything, the subject rushed at him and began to stab him with a pointed object,” an investigator said. Bonnin said he saw the scuffle between the two men and then saw Otems break away and run toward him. Otems allegedly struck Bonnin’s face with his fist about three times.
A third detention officer arrived to aid Hankins, and Bonnin and Otems allegedly tried to stab all three men. Officer Dustin Lowery was cut on his arm, and Hankins was stabbed four times in his upper body before Otems was restrained, investigators said. Otems then was transferred to solitary confinement.
Otems is accused of stabbing two officers with a self-made weapon during an escape attempt.
Copyright 2011 Wichita Falls Times Record News