Inmate pleads guilty to assault on Lima prison employee
Jan. 24—LIMA — An inmate serving time with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for voluntary manslaughter will see more time tacked onto his sentence after he pleaded guilty on Monday to assaulting a prison guard in Lima.
Anitaun Harris, 41, was indicted in September of last year on charges of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, and assault, a felony of the third degree, in connection with an incident that took place on Nov. 19, 2020, at the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institute in Lima.
The indictment alleges that Harris did knowingly cause serious physical harm to Ben VanHorn, an employee at the Lima prison. The felonious assault charge included a specification labeling Harris as a repeat violent offender
As part of a negotiated plea deal prosecutors agreed to dismiss the felonious assault charge and the RVO specification in exchange for Harris' guilty plea to the remaining count.
Harris faces an additional three years in prison when he is sentenced on March 7.
According to the ORDC website, Harris is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence following his 2016 conviction in Stark County for the offense of voluntary manslaughter. He also received an additional three-years for the use of a firearm during that offense and a separate one-year prison term for having weapons under disability.
Harris is serving his sentence at the Southern Ohio Correctional Institute in Lucasville and is eligible for parole in April of 2031. He is currently housed at the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institute in Lima until his sentencing, after which he is scheduled to be transferred back to the Southern Ohio Correctional Institute in Lucasville.
