CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — A jail officer in Carroll County is recovering from injuries after being attacked and thrown over the second floor of the cell pod guardrail, authorities said.
On Sunday, Jan. 12, a 20-year-old female officer was seriously injured by 34-year-old Patrick O'Neil Gentry, an inmate who has been housed at the Carroll County Jail since 2019.
Carroll County Sheriff's Office investigator Ashley Hulsey said the incident occurred after officers conducted cell searches and learned Gentry had an item in his possession he was not allowed to have.
She said Gentry "became angry" as the officer began to remove the item, he threatened her, and attacked her in a "violent manner."
The jailer sustained head and back injuries after she was thrown from the second floor of the cell pod -- first landing on a block partition, then falling to the floor of a shower stall below. According to Hulsey, the officer fell a total of 12 feet.
She said Gentry pulled the officer by her hair and threw her over the guardrail.
Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley said the injured officer has been an "asset" to the office for more than two years and is "highly respected" by her co-workers as well as the inmates she cares for her.
"We are actively working this investigation and will fiercely prosecute Gentry to the fullest extent, as we do not tolerate anyone who would have such a lack of respect and disregard for human life, especially for someone who selflessly serves this department and the citizens of Carroll County," Langley said.
Gentry was charged in August 2018 by the Villa Rica Police Department. He was serving time for forgery, criminal damage to property, providing false information to law enforcement, aggravated battery and terroristic threats and acts in addition to criminal attempt to commit murder.
Hulsey said the officer, who is not being identified, is at home recovering after being released from Grady Memorial Hospital in downtown Atlanta.
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