PRESS RELEASE
June 3, 2009
Ashland, KY. —An inmate at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Inez, KY. was convicted today by a federal jury on the charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
The evidence at trial established that on December 10, 2008, 28-year-old Manuel Cardosa assaulted fellow inmate Marvin Fontenette at the prison in retaliation for a previous incident. At trial, it was determined that Cardosa attacked Fontenette from behind, knocked him to the ground and continued to stomp and kick Fontenette in the head and face until the prison staff restrained Cardosa.
The evidence also revealed the severity of Fontenette’s injuries that resulted from
Cardosa’s attack. Fontenette suffered from bleeding of the brain which led to Fontenette’s
current paralysis of the left side of his body, the loss of vision in his left eye, and impaired
cognitive functioning.
The jury returned the verdict after a two-day trial. James A. Zerhusen, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and J.C. Zurecher, Warden, U.S.P. Big Sandy, jointly made the announcement today after the jury returned the verdict.
The investigation was conducted by the United States Bureau of Prisons U.S.P. Big Sandy Special Investigative Service. The United States was represented in the trial by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert M. Duncan, Jr, and Patrick H. Molloy.
Cardosa is currently scheduled to appear for sentencing before Judge Amul R. Thapar in Ashland, KY. on a date and time to be set by the Court. Cardosa faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. However, his sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of sentences.