Cor-Spec-Ops - Official Gateway to the Corrections Special Ops Community

A Harrison County Jail inmate has been charged with battery in an Aug. 11 attack on a fellow inmate.

County Prosecutor Dennis Byrd said Monday that William August Wilt II, 30, was charged with C-felony battery, which carries a potential penalty upon conviction of up to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. He said the felony charge was filed “because of the seriousness of the injuries” to 18-year-old Justin Schuley, who required surgery last week at University Hospital in Louisville.

At an initial court hearing Monday, an automatic not guilty plea was entered for Wilt, who is scheduled for trial Jan. 18 in Harrison County Superior Court.

Byrd said he did not know what steps have been taken to keep Schuley and Wilt separated now that Schuley is out of the hospital. The county’s jail commander did not return a phone message Monday.

Byrd said Wilt was in jail on a charge of operating while intoxicated, while Schuley faces eight felony charges involving fraudulent use of a credit card, forgery and receiving stolen property.

According to a police report, a jail officer found Schuley about 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 11 “regaining consciousness from a fight” and Wilt “being subdued” by another officer.

Schuley was examined and treated by jail employees and then taken to the Harrison County Hospital. He later was treated at Floyd Memorial Hospital and University Hospital, where he had surgery Thursday.

According to his mother, Cindy Schuley, he received 10 stitches to close a head wound and other stitches to his jaw.

The police report said Wilt told a jail officer that he had suspected Schuley a month earlier of stealing commissary items from another inmate and that Schuley was moved from their cellblock because of the suspicion. Wilt said Schuley had recently returned to the cellblock and had been “disrespectful” by slamming doors and being “unreasonably loud,” the report said.

Wilt also told the officer that he believed Schuley had said something disrespectful on the day of the fight before being taken to court for a hearing. When Schuley returned, Wilt told the officer, “he struck Schuley approximately five times” and kneed him. Wilt said he stopped fighting when he saw Schuley was bleeding.

Schuley told the officer that he didn’t remember much about the fight other than Wilt approaching him when he returned to the cellblock and striking him. He said he then passed out, the report said.

CONUS TOC SOURCE