Inmate gets 28 years in jail for attacking an instructor

CULPEPER, Va. (AP) --

An inmate will serve another 28 years behind bars for attacking an instructor at the Coffeewood Juvenile Correction Center.

William Lamar Ballard received a 50-year sentence on Monday in Culpeper County Circuit Court.

The Free Lance-Star reports that Judge Susan Whitlock then suspended 22 years of the sentence.

Prosecutors say the 19-year-old Ballard punched plumbing instructor David Cornett and threw a sink faucet that hit Cornett in the head on March 7, 2012.


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The injuries left Cornett unable to drive and he was forced to leave his teaching job at Coffeewood.

Culpeper Commonwealth's Attorney Megan Frederick says her office sought a sentence at the high end of the guidelines because of the crime's impact on the victim.

She also cited the importance of maintaining order in correctional facilities.