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Sheriff: Inmate bit NC jail officer and cut her with ‘homemade weapon’

It’s the facility’s second reported attack on a detention officer with an inmate-manufactured weapon this year

Shanks

Shivs, also known as shanks, pose a perennial threat to correctional professionals.

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

By Jonathan Limehouse
The Charlotte Observer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Mecklenburg County Jail officer is at home recovering after being cut and bitten by an inmate last week, signaling another investigation at the detention center this year.

It’s the second reported attack on a jail officer with a “homemade weapon” this year.

Around 8:49 p.m. Friday, 42-year old James Holmes cut the jail officer with “a homemade weapon” and bit them as she made a medication pass, the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office said.

The officer received treatment at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and was released, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Sheriff Garry L. McFadden, in a statement Monday, said the officer “is in good spirits.”

“As Sheriff, the safety of our detention professionals and residents is always a concern,” he said.

The Sheriff’s Office is investigating to determine whether Holmes will face criminal charges, McFadden said.

Holmes was arrested late last month on weapons and assault charges, according to the Sheriff’s Office website.

On May 2, Sherrod Davidson, 30, stabbed a jail officer with a “homemade weapon,” the Observer previously reported. The officer made a full recovery.

Next: Coping with the never-ending evolution of inmate weapons

(c)2021 The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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