McCormick County, South Carolina — A Richland County man has been sentenced to an additional 15 years in jail after allegedly throwing a cup containing feces at a correctional officer.
Donald Harper Jr., 35, was sentenced to the maximum penalty on Monday after admitting to flinging bodily fluids on a correctional officer at McCormick Correctional Institution.
According to investigators, Harper hurled a cup full of feces at an officer’s face during mealtime as the officer was delivering meals to convicts in Harper’s dormitory.
Harper tossed the contents of the cup squarely at the officer, hurting his eyes and lips.
The officer required emergency medical attention and is now being checked for contagious infections.
Harper is presently serving a 24 year prison sentence for the 2015 killing of a Benedict College instructor in Columbia.
During Monday’s sentencing hearing, Assistant Solicitor Doug Fender asked for the maximum sentence, citing Harper’s significant criminal record in Richland County and his behavior while in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
The additional 15-year sentence will begin only after Harper has completed his existing prison term; the punishments will not run consecutively.
