HOPE, Ark–A man being held in the Hempstead County jail in Hope who allegedly broke a window of the facility the day before he assaulted and choked a correctional officer is facing felony charges of assault and impairing the operation of a public facility.
Kevin Edward Hurt, 36, was allegedly being held on unspecified charges when he began banging on a window in a holding cell at around 10:30 p.m. March 30 while standing on a bench, according to a probable cause affidavit. By 11 p.m., Hurt had allegedly managed to crack the window.
Just hours later, shortly before 4 a.m. March 31, Hurt allegedly began banging on the holding cell door. Correctional officers warned Hurt that if he didn’t stop the banging, he would be placed in a restraint chair.
Hurt allegedly continued banging on the door, prompting a Sergeant and a correctional officer to begin the process of placing Hurt in a restraint chair. The officer opened the cell door while the sergeant rolled it into the cell. Hurt allegedly refused to sit in the chair and attempted to run out of the cell, the affidavit said.
The sergeant reportedly blocked the doorway while the correctional officer attempted to place Hurt in the chair. Hurt allegedly grabbed the officer’s arm and placed him in a choke hold “and then slammed him into the cell wall,” the affidavit said.
The sergeant “attempted to pry inmate Hurt’s hands” from around the officer’s neck before the officer was able to break free. The sergeant then grabbed Hurt and got him secured in the restraint chair.
Court records filed Thursday show that Circuit Judge Duncan Culpepper of the Eighth Circuit North Judicial District has ordered a mental status evaluation for Hurt.
If convicted of assaulting a correctional officer, Hurt faces up to six years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both. If found guilty of impairing operations at the correctional facility, he faces three to ten years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both.
Court records show that Hurt has pending felony charges in Nevada County, which is in the same judicial district as Hempstead County. In Nevada County, Hurt has been charged with second-degree battery and breaking or entering.
As a condition of his bond in the Nevada County matter, Hurt was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim. Prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Hurt’s bond in February because he allegedly violated the no-contact order by sending menacing text messages to the alleged victim.
Judge Culpepper revoked Hurt’s bond in the Nevada County case in an order Tuesday which said that Hurt would continue to be held in the Hempstead County jail until a future hearing.
