A Mississippi Army veteran who allegedly decapitated his mother last summer with a butter knife, his teeth, and hands had bitten off part of an inmate’s face three years earlier, according to a lawsuit filed by the inmate.
The Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported that Jaron Stubbs claimed he sustained the facial injuries in June 2015 while jailed at the Stone County Correctional Facility. Stubbs was sharing the same unit with Terelle Johnson when Johnson bit off his nose and part of his lips, leaving him “physically deformed” despite multiple rounds of plastic surgery, according to the lawsuit.
Stubbs was reportedly transported to a hospital an hour away due to the severity of his injuries, after a hospital in closer proximity couldn’t effectively treat him. The lawsuit stated that the second hospital found his injuries too difficult to treat and moved him to another clinic, where doctors performed emergency surgery the following day.
Stubbs, now 31, is reportedly seeking $1.4 million, alleging that jail staff was aware of Johnson’s mental illness and neglected to keep him in an isolated cell. He also accused the staff of failing to keep him safe and being unprepared to handle the 2015 assault. The Federal Bureau of Prisons was also listed as a defendant, as Stubbs was jailed on a federal charge (possession with intent to distribute crystal methamphetamine) at the time.
According to the Clarion Ledger, Stubbs said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder which is triggered every time he looks in the mirror.
A month before the alleged assault, Johnson was jailed for a police chase and standoff which occurred after he was accused of stealing gas. He ultimately pleaded guilty in 2016 and was sentenced a five-year sentence which was suspended for three years’ probation, according to the Stone County Enterprise.
Stubbs claimed he told authorities in 2015 that he wanted to press charges against Johnson, who hasn’t been prosecuted for the incident. He was moved to another federal correctional center after the assault, and his release is scheduled for October 2020.
Terrelle Johnson also hasn’t been tried for the June 2018 murder of his mother, Sherry Johnson, 51. Terrelle, then 29, allegedly strangled his guidance counselor mother during an argument over credit cards—then used his hands, teeth, and a butter knife to decapitate her. He dumped her body in the backyard when her body started to stink, according to the Hattiesburg American.
In September, a judge ordered Terrelle to undergo a psychological evaluation, according to the Clarion Ledger. The results of the evaluation haven’t been disclosed to the public.
[Featured image: Terrelle Johnson/Stone County Correctional Facility; Sherry Johnson/Facebook]
