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2 inmates get more time for assaults

Two men found guilty of assaulting inmates in federal prison were sentenced to more time in prison at two separate hearings before Judge Matthew Bran on Wednesday.

Troi Venable, a New Jersey man who pleaded guilty to assaulting a fellow inmate at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg was sentenced to serve 92 months in federal prison and to pay $94,000 restitution split between the four co-defendants.

The victim of the 2014 assault, which Bran referred to as “grizzly,” suffered facial fractures, a broken collar bone, 20 slash wounds and five puncture wounds to his back. The victim’s right vocal cord also was paralyzed after the attack.

Venable apologized for his actions before his sentencing, saying that: “I’ve made some wrong mistakes. I really want to do right.”

Robert Stoddard, an inmate in the United States Penitentiary in Allenwood, also was sentenced Wednesday for assaulting a fellow inmate.

Stoddard was found guilty of assault and inmate in possession of a contraband weapon in a jury trial early this year after stabbing an inmate’s face with a weapon fashioned from a razor blade in 2016. The defendant told the court he acted in a way that he thought was appropriate. “As inmates we had rules we had to abide by,” Stoddard said.

Sean Camoni, assistant United States attorney, disagreed with Stoddard’s comments, painting the picture of a man who he said “has exhibited over and over again that he will use violence as he sees fit.”

“All the evidence disagrees with the defendant,” Camoni said. ” It was a sneak attack. He carved at the victims face until he was physically stopped.”

Stoddard was sentenced to 108 months of prison to be added to his previous sentence, which he told the court was for shooting and killing his cousin.

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