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Corrections Officer found not-guilty on two charges in assault trial; deadlocked jury on misdemeanor charge

By GARY LIBERATORE

Story Created: Jun 18, 2012 at 12:37 PM EDT

Story Updated: Jun 19, 2012 at 4:17 PM EDT

UTICA, N.Y. (WKTV) - An Oneida County jury found Corrections Officer Michael Wehby not-guilty on two felony charges in the assault case of an inmate at Midstate Correctional Facility, but was deadlocked when it came to the third charge, a misdemeanor.

Wehby was accused of severely beating up inmate Jose Rivera at Midstate Correctional Facility two years ago.

Monday marked the second day of deliberations, which began on Friday.

The first count against the 51 year old Wehby was felony attempted assault for allegedly trying to injure the 45 year old Rivera, who was serving a life sentence for five different robbery convictions.

The second count against Wehby was felony assault in the second-degree, for allegedly injuring Rivera in the head by hitting him with his two-way radio.

The jury found Wehby not-guilty on both of those charges, but was unable to reach a verdict on the third count, misdemeanor assault in the second-degree for causing general injury to Rivera back on that day in January 2010.

Oneida County Prosecutors will meet with Wehby's attorneys and Oneida County Court Judge Michael Dwyer in conference sometime before July 9 to determine whether Wehby will face another trial on the one outstanding count.

If convicted of assault in the second-degree, Wehby could face up to a year in the Oneida County Jail.

Wehby is still on paid administrative leave from both his full time job as a corrections officer and his part time job as a police officer with the Town of Frankfort.

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