Federal Inmate Found Guilty at Trial of Assault of Other Inmates and Possession of Contraband in Prison

DENVER – A jury today found Daniel Thomas, an inmate in the U.S. Bureau of Prisons system, guilty of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Possession of Contraband in Prison, and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury following a three-day trial before U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. The jury deliberated for approximately 90 minutes before returning its guilty verdicts.

Thomas was first charged by Criminal Complaint on January 11, 2016. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on February 10, 2016. He was convicted yesterday, April 12, 2017.

According to public documents and evidence presented during the trial, in June 2015 the defendant, while housed at the United States Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado, attacked another inmate from behind at another inmate and stabbed him in the cheek and torso with a homemade knife, otherwise known as a shank. While housed at the Federal Correctional Facility in Englewood, Colorado in September 2016, Thomas attacked another inmate from behind, throwing him down concrete stairs, and then stomping on him. That inmate suffered serious bodily injury as a result.

Thomas faces not more than 10 years in prison for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. He faces not more than 5 years in prison for Possession of Contraband in Prison, and not more than 10 years in prison for Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. Each of the three counts also carries a fine of up to $250,000.

Acting U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer wanted to recognize the BOP and FBI for their investigation of this matter, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorneys Judith Smith and Edwin Garreth Winstead for their prosecution of the defendant.