District Woman Sentenced To One Year Incarceration For Courthouse Attack Of Deputy U.S. Marshal-Defendant Threw Repeated Punches, Pushed Deputy Into A Wall-

     WASHINGTON - Janell Shaw, also known as Janelle Kara Shaw, 22, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a year and a day in prison for assaulting a Deputy United States Marshal, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Michael Hughes, U.S. Marshal for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

     Shaw pled guilty in December 2012 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was sentenced by the Honorable Rudolph Contreras.  She was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following her incarceration.

     According to the government’s evidence, on Oct. 16, 2012, a judge in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia received testimony that Shaw had tested positive for controlled substances while Shaw was on release in a pending misdemeanor assault case. After hearing the violation report, the judge ordered that Shaw be taken into custody by the courtroom’s deputy marshal. The deputy marshal instructed Shaw to place her hands behind her back.  Shaw refused to move from the defendant’s table and then pushed the deputy marshal.

     The deputy marshal then brought Shaw into the area between the courtroom and the cell block area, but Shaw continued to resist cuffing.  As they proceeded to the cellblock area, Shaw pulled away and struck the deputy marshal with a closed fist multiple times about the head and face. Other deputy marshals arrived and helped to secure the defendant.  As a result of this incident, there was significant damage caused to the cellblock area and the deputy sustained injuries requiring treatment for abrasions to her face, head and for a neck sprain.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and U.S. Marshal Hughes commended the actions of all the Deputy U.S. Marshals who work to keep all of the judges, court personnel, attorneys, and visitors safe while attending court proceedings.  They also commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole, who investigated and prosecuted the case.