South Carolina man sentenced to 18 months for 2019 assault of inmate at Wayne County prison

Jeff Horvath, The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.

Feb. 19—U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced a South Carolina man Thursday to 18 months in federal prison for assaulting another inmate at United States Penitentiary — Canaan in 2019.

Justin Petty, 44, of Charleston, and another inmate at the Waymart prison in Wayne County struck the victim several times on Feb. 28, 2019, in retaliation for that inmate's past cooperation with law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced in a press release.

The office announced in January that Troy J. Blanchard, 31, of Portland, Maine, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for the assault. The victim was not named in either release.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons and the FBI investigated the case.

JEFF HORVATH

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