Mario Powell has been sentenced to 97 months in prison for assaulting a federal corrections officer with a contraband weapon at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan after Powell was convicted in September 2025 of assaulting a corrections officer with a deadly and dangerous weapon, as well as possession of prison contraband, following a five-day trial.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton commented on the case: “Mario Powell brazenly ambushed a corrections officer at the Metropolitan Correction Center in New York City, trying to slit his throat. This sentence shows that violence in our corrections facilities will trigger meaningful consequences.”
Court records show that on May 30, 2020, Powell used a weapon made from razor blades to attack and lacerate the neck of a corrections officer while incarcerated at MCC.
In addition to his prison term, Powell, who is 34 years old and from the Bronx, New York, received three years of supervised release.
Jay Clayton expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by former MCC staff and commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The prosecution was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas John Wright, Henry L. Ross, and Leslie B. Arffa from the General Crimes Unit.
