Tampa Resident Pleads Guilty To Assaulting A Federal Officer

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Quentin Cephus (30, Tampa) today pleaded guilty to forcibly assaulting and inflicting bodily injury on a federal employee, while that employee was carrying out his official duties. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

According to court documents, on February 9, 2016, Cephus approached a U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) official who was conducting an audit at the Hillsborough County Residential Reentry Center. Cephus, who was a resident at the reentry center, punched the official in the face with a closed fist and inflicted bodily injury on him. Moments later, he spat in the official’s face. 

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Mandy Riedel.