SCRANTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle), published as received.

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on September 13, a federal grand jury in Williamsport indicted two federal inmates in cases resulting from separate incidents.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Deon Hooper, age 36, is charged with possessing contraband in prison.  The charge stems from an incident in July 2016 in which Hooper was found to be in possession of two homemade sharpened weapons commonly known as “shanks.”

The maximum penalty under federal law is 5 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

Julious Bullock, age 30, formerly of North Carolina, was charged separately with “head-butting” a corrections officer on August 2, 2016.

In this case, the maximum penalty which can be imposed under federal law is 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a $250,000 fine.

The investigations were conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Service.  Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.

Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.

 

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