A Lynchburg man pleaded guilty Thursday to assaulting and injuring a correctional officer while in custody at the Amherst Adult Detention Center in Madison Heights.
Adrian Isaiah Gray, 28, pleaded guilty in Amherst County Circuit Court to assaulting a law enforcement officer, a Class 6 felony, and one count of destruction of property, a misdemeanor. He faces a maximum of six years in prison on the combined charges.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Amber Drumheller said Gray was incarcerated at the jail Feb. 3, 2017, when the incident took place. A correctional officer was sitting at a desk when Gray struck him with a closed fist, knocking off and damaging his glasses, Drumheller said. She played a video of the incident before Judge Michael Garrett during a plea hearing Thursday.
Drumheller said the officer suffered a detached retina and required surgery. She said the commonwealth is seeking restitution of more than $22,000, though the amount is subject to change.
Gray faces one felony count each of malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony in connection with an October 2014 shooting at a bar in Lynchburg.
He is accused of shooting Marcus Mandall McCarthy in a confrontation outside the former Toppers Bar and Grill parking lot on Fort Avenue. Authorities have said McCarthy, who was hospitalized for two weeks, was shot twice in the chest and once in the leg.
Gray previously was charged with aggravated malicious wounding, but it was amended. On two occasions in Lynchburg Circuit Court last year, jurors could not reach a verdict in the case, resulting in two mistrials. He is scheduled for a jury trial in Lynchburg Circuit Court on June 12, court records show.
On the two Amherst charges, Garrett scheduled a sentencing hearing for 1:30 p.m. May 21 in Amherst County Circuit Court.