On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, a secret indictment authorized in April by a Chautauqua County Grand Jury was unsealed in County Court charging one Jkendric Agee with two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, a class D violent felony, committed on February 23, 2026, against two employees working at the Lakeview Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility located in Brocton, New York. The indictment alleges that Mr. Agee, while confined in the Lakeview facility, brutally attacked and injured a female civilian staff member without provocation, and then attacked and injured a Correction Officer who came to her aid.
At Mr. Agee’s arraignment on the indictment, County Court Judge David Foley entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf and set bail at $250,000.00 cash, or in the alternative, $500,000.00 secured by property bond, or $500,000.00 secured by the posting of 10%. The Court then scheduled a Discovery Conference for June 22nd and remanded Mr. Agee into custody. He was then returned to Attica Correctional Facility where he has been housed since the attacks.
According to Mr. Schmidt, the assaults are alleged to have occurred while the civilian employee, an Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator, was providing instruction to Mr. Agree and other prison inmates inside a locked program room at the facility pursuant to the New York Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (the “HALT Act”). Enacted in 2022, the HALT Act strictly limits the use of solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure to a maximum of 15 consecutive days, and requires the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) to provide therapeutic programming to inmates. The civilian employee was alone in a locked program room instructing the inmates when Mr. Agee assaulted her. He and the other inmates were neither shackled nor restrained at the time. He is innocent under the law until a jury finds otherwise.
“No one should ever have to earn a living while in fear for their personal safety or that of their co-workers. Unless you’ve experienced it for yourself, and I hope no person reading this ever does, an unprovoked attack doesn’t just threaten bodily harm and one’s physical safety but leaves behind substantial emotional scars that can last a lifetime. There is no place in this community, and certainly not in the workplace, for any person who attacks and assaults another person without justification. We take these cases very seriously and will aggressively pursue all options for holding those persons who hurt others accountable under the law to the fullest extent possible.”
DOCCS Commissioner Daniel F. Martuscello III said, “This indictment sends a clear message that violent assaults on correctional staff will be met with swift accountability. Our officers and civilian staff report to work each day to maintain safety and order and deliver rehabilitative services in challenging environments. They deserve to do so without fear of violence, and DOCCS will continue working with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who attack staff are fully prosecuted. I also want to thank District Attorney Schmidt for his partnership and commitment to pursuing justice in this case.”
