- Information courtesy of the U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of North Carolina
An inmate at FMC Butner was sentenced to 114 months in prison for assaulting a federal law enforcement officer at the Federal Medical Center in Butner. The inmate had pled guilty to the charge earlier this year.
According to court documents, Michael Anthony Mata, 47, an inmate at FMC Butner at the time of the offense, struck the law enforcement officer in the face after the officer told him he was in an unauthorized area and asked him to return to his assigned housing unit. As a result of the contact, the officer suffered a severe fracture to his left orbital wall that required surgical repair.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Michael Easley said, “The brave men and women who put themselves on the line every day to keep the rest of us safe, have the well-deserved support of our Office. We will vigorously prosecute anyone who assaults a correctional officer, or any other law enforcement personnel, and seek a firm punishment to deter others who may be inclined to do the same.”
Citing Mata’s extensive criminal history and the severity of the assault, U.S. Federal District Court Judge James C. Dever III sentenced Mata to 114 months in prison.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons investigated the case and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory Brooks Storus prosecuted the case.