Inmate With AIDS Who Bit Guards Convicted of Using Deadly Weapon
A prison inmate who bit two guards after testing positive for AIDS was found guilty Wednesday of two counts of assault with a deadly and dangerous weapon--his mouth and teeth.
The jury found James V. Moore, 44, of New York City, guilty after deliberating for three hours.
Moore, a former heroin user, was accused of biting guards Timothy Voigt and Ronald McCullough at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., in January.
During the trial, Assistant U.S. Atty. Jon Hopeman said Moore told a nurse after the incident that he wanted the guards to die and hoped they would get acquired immune deficiency syndrome from the wounds.
“Almost any object which is likely to produce death or great bodily harm can . . . be a dangerous weapon,” Hopeman said.
The maximum sentence for assault with a deadly weapon is 10 years. U.S. District Judge Diana Murphy ordered a presentencing investigation, and no sentencing date was set.
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