Published: May 26, 2009 11:25 pm         

Federal prison inmate sentenced to 188 months following guilty plea

TERRE HAUTE — Michael S. Vaught, 38, a Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate from Lawrence County, was sentenced to 188 months imprisonment Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Larry J. McKinney following Vaught’s guilty plea to assault with intent to commit murder. This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, according to Timothy M. Morrison, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.

On May 27, 2008, Vaught assaulted a fellow inmate with a homemade knife, commonly referred to as a shank. The assault occurred while Vaught and the fellow inmate were exercising in a recreation cage at the institution. Vaught cut the other inmate on the neck and elsewhere on his body. In doing so, Vaught orally threatened to kill him. The injuries were deemed life-threatening by the treating physician at Terre Haute Regional Hospital.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney James M. Warden, who prosecuted the case for the government, McKinney also imposed 3 years of supervised release following Vaught’s release from prison.