Inmate accused of attacking, injuring prison guard

A city prison inmate attacked and injured a female correctional officer last night at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, according to the president of the union that represents the city's 2,000 prison guards.

Inmate Antonie Fletcher, 37, allegedly punched correctional officer D'Juana Henry, 29, a two-year veteran, just after 8 p.m. yesterday and knocked her to the floor, where he continued punching her, said Lorenzo North, president of Local 159. Henry was treated at Jeanes Hospital for facial, hand and knee injuries, North said.

Prisons spokeswoman Shawn Hawes said Henry told Fletcher to return to his cell after he used the telephone, but instead, he allegedly attacked her. He could face additional assault charges; the District Attorney's Office is reviewing the incident, Hawes said.

Fletcher has been in custody on $250,000 bail since Oct. 18, 2012, awaiting trial in a gun-possession case, according to Hawes and court records. Pre-trial inmates stay, on average, 100 days behind bars, Hawes said. Fletcher's court record shows several attorney changes, but defense attorney Raymond Driscoll and Cameron Kline, a spokesman for the D.A.'s Office, couldn't immediately be reached to explain why Fletcher has spent nearly three years in jail awaiting trial. Pennsylvania has a speedy trial rule that requires a defendant to be tried within a year of the criminal complaint - and does not allow pretrial incarceration for longer than 180 days beyond when that complaint was filed.