Franklin County inmate held in attack on two officers

A judge set bail Thursday at $500,000 for a Franklin County inmate accused of attacking two corrections officers, sending one to the hospital for stitches.

Josue Enrique Contreras, 25, of Pasco, allegedly charged out of a cell like he was trying to escape, punched one officer and smashed the head of another into a concrete wall before wrapping his legs around her neck.

During a hearing in Franklin County Superior Court, Judge Robert Swisher found probable cause to hold Contreras on suspicion of second- and third-degree assault.

Prosecutors have until Monday afternoon to file charges against Contreras, or they must release him from the jail on this case.

Records show Contreras was booked into the jail last Saturday.

On Wednesday afternoon, when his cell door was open, he bolted out with his head down and tried to get through Corrections Officer Ediberto Iztas by punching him, court documents said.

Iztas reportedly was in the booking area at the time.

Corrections Officer Janet Nimietz was coming to help her colleague, who was on the ground, when Contreras grabbed her hair, punched her in the face several times and hit her head against the wall, documents said.

Contreras then allegedly tried strangling Nimietz with his legs around her neck.

Iztas and another inmate rescued Nimietz by pulling Contreras off her, court documents said.

Security footage from the jail shows that when Nimietz got up, she “was having a hard time walking and was clearly disoriented,” said Deputy Jim LeDoux.

Nimietz was taken by ambulance to a Tri-City hospital.

A deep cut on the left side of her forehead was stitched up, and she was checked for a concussion, Sheriff Jim Raymond said.

Nimietz has been released from the hospital and has some time off to recuperate before returning to work, Raymond said.

Iztas had red scrapes to the top and right side of his head and on his right elbow, documents said.

Contreras has two pending cases in Pasco Municipal Court, according to a court spokeswoman.

The charges are simple assault, disorderly conduct and hindering police, all gross misdemeanors.

Online court records show Contreras has a lengthy history, mostly in Pasco municipal, and Franklin County and Benton County district courts.

In July 2012, he was sentenced in Franklin County Superior Court to three years and seven months in prison for breaking into four homes to get money for drugs.

His attorney said he had turned to drugs to deal with his sister’s 2007 death.

When Pasco officers caught him breaking into one home in March 2012, Contreras ran into a nearby house and was found pointing a rifle at his head.

That led to a standoff with police and the Tri-City Regional SWAT team until he agreed to surrender.

This story was originally published October 8, 2015 at 10:26 PM with the headline "Franklin County inmate held in attack on two officers."