Man sentenced for shanking deputy in jail

ZANESVILLE - A Muskingum County Jail inmate was sentenced to 15 years in prison for assaulting deputies at the jail with a shank and sharpened pencils.

Kody Mullens, 22, appeared Wednesday in front of Judge Mark Fleegle in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court and pleaded guilty to two counts each of felonious assault of a peace officer and possession of a deadly weapon in detention. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the two counts of felonious assault of a peace officer and 12 months for each count of the possession of a deadly weapon in detention charges.

The sentences for the possession of a weapon will run concurrent with the sentence for the felonious assault.

"I'm sorry for what I did," Mullens said in court.

At about 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2015, Mullens, who was serving a sentence in jail for theft, requested to make a phone call, Assistant Prosecutor Gerald Anderson said in court. After the phone call, as Mullens was being escorted back to the general population, he took out a shank and tried to stab the deputy. The shank may have been a sharpened utensil.

On Nov. 10, Mullens was in lockdown and told officers that he wanted to kill cops and his intention was to kill the deputy, Anderson said in court. He threatened to stab another deputy.

Mullens then spoke to a different deputy, and when the deputy came close enough to Mullens, Mullens said, "are you ready for this?" before he stabbed the deputy in the wrist with another shank made out of two pencils taped together, Anderson said.

Because he has not completed his sentence for the misdemeanor, Mullens received no credit for jail time served.

ksnyder2@zanesvilletimesrecorder.com

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Twitter: @KL_Snyder