Sikeston man found guilty of assaulting corrections officers

A Sikeston, Missouri, man has been convicted for assaulting three corrections officers in the Scott County Jail in 2015.

A Pemiscot County jury found William Henry Applewhite III, guilty on three counts of an assault on a corrections officer and three counts of armed criminal action from an incident in the Scott County Jail on May 9, 2015.

Applewhite, who was awaiting trial on murder charges during the time of the incident, created a disturbance in the pod where he was being housed. Three corrections officers entered the pod and attempted to secure him in the cell.

According to a news release in 2015, Applewhite charged the officers and got one of them in a choke hold, obtaining control of a Taser. He tased all three officers multiple times in the face, head and neck areas before he was able to be subdued.

One of the officers sustained injuries and was treated at a local hospital.