ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The beating of a St. Louis County correctional officer made news last week, but charges were filed Tuesday in a previous beating that happened back in October.
Zahmeen Manuel, 43, was charged with first-degree assault of a special victim for the October attack.
The incident happened on Oct. 9. According to a probable cause statement, Manuel choked a correctional officer while saying "I'm gonna break your neck" and "I'm going to kill you."
He was being held on felony robbery and other charges related to an August incident. In a probable cause statement, police said he filled a bag with items at a Dollar General in Berkely and tried to walk out without paying. When a manager tried to stop him, he grabbed a pair of scissors from the shelf and threatened the manager.
He is being held on $500,000, cash-only bond.
Another inmate is already facing charges after he was accused of assaulting a different correctional officer last week. According to a probable cause statement, 19-year-old Carnell Robinson was caught on camera charging at a correctional officer and punching her in the head on Nov. 10. The probable cause statement said he continued to punch her until a second person ran to help the correctional officer.
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Robinson was being held on charges related to a robbery of a pawn shop. He is also being held on a $500,000, cash-only bond.
"Detention is essential to our criminal justice process, so our public safety is entirely reliant on the safety of our corrections officers," St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell said in a press release. "In the case of the St. Louis County Jail, our offices are in the same building, so our staff is directly and immediately reliant upon the safety and protection of St. Louis County corrections officers. Assaults on these professionals will not be tolerated and will be aggressively prosecuted."
