CIM inmate convicted of spitting on guards

Link to article (http://www.dailybulletin.com/Stories/0,1413,203~21481~2852368,00.html#)


Wednesday, May 04, 2005 - RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A prison inmate was convicted of battery on Wednesday for spitting on two guards at the California Institution for Men in Chino.


Jermaine Sims faces up to 10 additional years in state prison for the Aug. 2004 incident.

Sims was serving time for forgery in a high security wing of the Chino prison when he spit at two officers serving him breakfast, bypassing security measures designed specifically to thwart inmates from hurling bodily fluids at guards.

The officers wore clear plastic spit shields over their faces and served meals from behind a rolling plexiglass wall. Sims' cell further had steel mesh over the bars, prosecutors said.

Deputy District Attorney William Wooten said Sims went to the edge of his cell, pressed his lips against the mesh and spit just as the guards rolled past, hitting them on areas not covered by protective gear. Spittle landed on the officers' necks, ears and on an arm, Wooten said.

Sims attorney argued during trial that the spitting was accidental, from a sneeze or cough.

Jurors deliberated about an hour before convicting him of four felony battery counts in West Valley Superior Court.

His potential prison term is double what it might otherwise be because of a prior strike he earned for a burglary. He is to be sentenced May 24.







@tag: Rod Leveque, (909) 483-9325.

I would rather an inmate hit me then spit on me. Nasty.

I saw a program on SQ and they had this same deal with the rolling plexiglass wall and the spit shields while the guards were cell feeding inmates. I was totally shocked!! I had no idea that it was that bad!!

KellyA.

While I admit spitting is VERY NASTY and certainly uncalled for and perhaps potentially dangerous if there is a chance of disease, I find the charge outlandish. No wonder our prisons are so overcrowded if people are getting these kinds of sentences for incidents like this one.

Sgt although you may rather be hit on than spit on the way it is described here, it doesn't appear that there was a chance to be hit. I am sure if he would have hit instead of spit then he would have been facing even a longer sentence.

The charges are the same for hitting or spitting. My issue is with disease that I may take home to share with my family.

The question I have is what is a person serving time for forgery doing in a high security unit. The other question I pose having recently heard of an officer seeking to wear a stab vest on duty against department direction is what has it all come to you have to wear shields to serve them breakfast , something is really wrong with this system of looking after prisoners.

I don't agree with your system at all, caged like animals in over crowded prisons, give them no hope of life with the three strike rule, and expect them to behave unrealistic and unacheivable.

Yes the threat of desease is there , that for sure, and for an officer that a real threat to be taken seriously but 10 years prison for it , unbelievable, when you consider that they might not have a desease at all.

I would personally like to know , why the prisoner spat at the officers in the first place.

Forgery was just what he was put in prison for. Once in prison inmates can earn their way up the custody level or down depending on their actions. The shields are worn in Ad/Seg and high security units because the inmates in those areas are more dangerous and more likely to spit or throw body fluids on the officers.

In my opinion the scentance is very harsh. However I believe in personal responsibility for ones actions. When I caught Matt with drugs I asked him if it was worth 4 years of his life. When he got busted and the DA offered him 4 years he thought that the scentance was way to harsh. The DA was being unfair. My statement to him was you knew the consequences yet you chose to do it anyway, so don't complain about the punishment prescribe by law. I love my son dearly and I hate the situation he is in. But he did it to himself. The choices we make dictate the life we lead.

If this person is in for forgery, and ended up in ad seg, then it seems to me he has demonstrate that he doesn't work and play well with others. He is punished for his actions (ad seg) yet continues to make poor decisions.

The scentance being fair or not is not really the issue. The scentance for a particular offense is prescribed by law. If the law is unfair then it needs to be changed. But if you break the law you better be prepared to suffer the consequences that the law allows.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

The charges are the same for hitting or spitting. My issue is with disease that I may take home to share with my family.
Hey Sarge, if you do not mind me correcting you...;) Spitting is worse than striking another person. The charge for spitting/gassing is "Aggravated Battery" which carries an even stiffer penalty than "Battery". I am due to go to trial soon on a similar case. The transfer of body fluids make it more dangerous than striking someone with a fist, or kicking someone with their feet. These acts are usually not life threatening.

For those of you that think these penalties are too stiff for this type of behavior...you apparently have never been spit upon or gassed before. It is the most vile, disrespectful act you can take out on another person, and a potential life threatening one at that.

You are absolutely correct. My mistake. Just went through that with one of my cops too cause an inmate threw a cup of hot coffee on him. Any time the substance is a hot or caustic substance, or body fluid it is aggravated.

Thanks for the correction.

In my opinion the scentance is very harsh. However I believe in personal responsibility for ones actions. When I caught Matt with drugs I asked him if it was worth 4 years of his life. When he got busted and the DA offered him 4 years he thought that the scentance was way to harsh. The DA was being unfair. My statement to him was you knew the consequences yet you chose to do it anyway, so don't complain about the punishment prescribe by law. I love my son dearly and I hate the situation he is in. But he did it to himself. The choices we make dictate the life we lead.

If this person is in for forgery, and ended up in ad seg, then it seems to me he has demonstrate that he doesn't work and play well with others. He is punished for his actions (ad seg) yet continues to make poor decisions.

The scentance being fair or not is not really the issue. The scentance for a particular offense is prescribed by law. If the law is unfair then it needs to be changed. But if you break the law you better be prepared to suffer the consequences that the law allows.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Very well spoken MD. :thumbsup:

BTW, I do not believe you are wrong, I think you hit the nail on the head. :)

Thanks for the correction.
No problem Sarge. ;)