A Roan Mountain man was found guilty Tuesday afternoon on charges he assaulted an officer at the Carter County Detention Center.
A Carter County jury found Anthony Lacy, 20, guilty of one count of aggravated assault and one count of misdemeanor reckless endangerment. Lacy had been charged in connection with an assault on a corrections officer at the Carter County Detention Center.
The trial against Lacy began on Monday and concluded Tuesday afternoon when the jury rendered their verdict.
Lacy had originally been charged with attempted first degree murder and aggravated assault in the case. During their deliberations, the jury passed on the attempted first degree murder charge and instead found Lacy guilty of the lesser included offense of misdemeanor reckless endangerment. The jury found Lacy guilty as charged on the count of aggravated assault. The jurors ordered that Lacy pay a $2,500 on the misdemeanor reckless endangerment conviction and a $10,000 on the aggravated assault conviction. A sentencing hearing for Lacy to determine what, if any, prison sentence he will serve will be scheduled at a later time.
The charges in this case against Lacy stem from an incident that occurred in the Carter County Detention Center on Oct. 23, 2014. Police said Lacy, who was 18 at the time, attacked Corrections Officer Dwight Lacey and struck him repeatedly in the head and body with a mop handle.
At the time of this incident, Lacy was being held in the Detention Center awaiting trial on charges of first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, burglary, evading arrest and multiple counts of theft of property.
Lacy was being housed in the Detention Center’s disciplinary lockdown block at the time of the attack on the officer due to a previous incident where he allegedly assaulted another inmate.
In that other alleged assault, Lacy was charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly attacked his cellmate on August 29, 2014. Lacy is scheduled to stand trial on a charge of aggravated assault in connection with the August 2014 incident on Monday, Oct. 31.
Judge Stacy Street, who presided over this week’s trial and is set to preside over the trial next week has said he will set a sentencing hearing for Lacy after the Oct. 31 trial is concluded and that he will sentence Lacy in connection with both cases at that time.