Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Western District of Louisiana
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013
ALEXANDRIA, La. - United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that John Waller, 41, of New Rochelle, N.Y., was found guilty Tuesday by a federal jury of attacking a fellow inmate with a makeshift knife. United States District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial.
Waller’s trial started Monday and ended Tuesday afternoon with the jury returning the guilty verdict after deliberating for more than two hours. Based on witness testimony and documents admitted into evidence, it was established that on March 28, 2010 at the U.S. Penitentiary in Pollock, La., Waller could be seen on video in a prison common area stabbing a fellow inmate repeatedly with a makeshift knife. The assaulted inmate received puncture wounds to the upper body and was brought to a nearby hospital for treatment. Waller testified at trial. He said that he acted in self-defense, and that he was justified in committing the assault. Waller is serving a 320-month sentence on narcotics and weapons charges.
Waller faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release for assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to cause bodily harm. Sentencing has been set for Dec. 19, 2013.
The FBI and U.S. Bureau of Prisons conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
