Inmate convicted for throwing urine
An inmate at the Eastern Correctional Facility in Napanoch with a history of throwing human excrement at corrections officers was convicted Friday of throwing urine at a prison guard, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office said.
An Ulster County Court jury of eight men and four women found Eschell Ashcroft, 49, guilty of the felony of aggravated harassment of an employee by an inmate, the prosecutor’s office said in a press release.
On Oct. 27, 2017, Ashcroft, who is serving eight to 16 years in prison for criminal sale of a controlled substance and aggravated harassment, was arrested by state police at Wawarsing and charged in correction with throwing the urine.
The District Attorney’s Office said the urine struck the officer in his face, shirt and pants and that the incident was captured by surveillance cameras.
Numerous corrections officers testified at trial, including the one who was struck, as did a serologist from the New York State Police Crime Lab who said the substance thrown at the officer tested positive for urine, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Ashcroft testified that he did not throw anything at the officer, and he contended he was set up by the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
New York law prevented the jury from hearing that Ashcroft was convicted in 2005 for throwing feces at a corrections officer while confined to the Sullivan Correctional Facility, the District Attorney’s Office said.
Ashcroft’s criminal history includes convictions for attempted robbery, reckless endangerment, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sale of a controlled substance.
For his conviction Friday, Ashcroft could be sentenced to an additional two-and-ahalf to five years in prison.
His sentencing is scheduled for May 9.