Two Federal Inmates Charged With Assault with a Shank

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that two inmates at the United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, have been indicted today by a federal grand jury in Scranton for assaulting another inmate with a homemade weapon.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, the superseding indictment charges Kyle Stevens, age 25, and James Sweeney, age 39, with assault with a dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting.  The charges stem from an incident in February 2016 in which Stevens and Sweeney allegedly assaulted another inmate with a sharpened piece of metal commonly known as a “shank.”  The superseding indictment also charges Stevens with possessing contraband in prison.

Stevens was previously indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2016, for assaulting an inmate in February 2015.  The superseding indictment issued today by the grand jury adds the new assault to the previous indictment.

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.