A Hoopa man accused of beating up a jail correctional officer was arraigned this morning on a fresh felony charge of making criminal threats against another deputy.
The new charge was filed Nov. 20 against Jonah Dale Little, 21. At this morning’s arraignment Conflict Counsel Kaleb Cockrum accepted the case and entered a not guilty plea on Little’s behalf.
Little and his former cellmate Lorence Emmanuel Bailey, 24, are set for jury trial next month for an alleged attack on Officer Dillon Huffman, who was severely beaten after the men asked him to come to their cell and view their artwork. Huffman was punched in the head and face dozens of times as he retreated down the jail corridor.
Deputy Public Defender Luke Bernthal told visiting Judge Thomas Breen this morning that the two cases “should be on the same track.”
“They both involve peace officer victims and they both occurred in the jail,” Bernthal said. He said the prosecution will file a motion to join the cases.
Bailey has another jury trial scheduled for the alleged murder of a 50-year-old Hoopa woman who was killed in her residence on Nov. 25, 2016.
Both Bailey and Little have been segregated from the jail’s population since the Aug. 9 attack on Huffman. The officer suffered black eyes and a bloody nose but returned to work the next day.
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- (VIDEO) Humboldt County Correctional Deputy Assaulted by Two Inmates
- More on the Two Inmates Charged With Attacking a Humboldt Correctional Deputy
- Guard Describes Jailhouse Attack That Left Him With Black Eyes, Bloody Nose; Two Inmates Will Face Felony Charges for Assaulting Officer
- Accused Humboldt Correctional Officer Beaters Will Have (Another) Day in Court Next Month
- Accused Officer-Pummeling Inmates Set to Go to Trial at the End of the Month
- Half of Accused Jail Deputy-Battering Duo Gets Trial Delayed, to the Evident Dismay of the Other Half