Polk inmate charged with breaking detention deputy's nose

A 29-year-old inmate at the South Polk County Jail in Frostproof already facing an attempted murder charge broke a detention deputy's nose Saturday morning.

Manuel Alberto Santiago-Muniz also punched another deputy before he was finally subdued.

He is facing two counts of battery on an officer.

According to a Polk County Sheriff's Office report Detention Deputy Julian Hodge responded to the suspect's cell just after 7 a.m. Saturday. Santiago-Muniz had allegedly covered up the light in his cell – against Polk County Jail policy – and Hodge asked him to uncover it.

Santiago-Muniz failed to comply and Hodge went into the cell to uncover the light himself. The suspect jumped up on a table and yelled at the deputy not to touch the light.

The report states that Santiago-Muniz pushed Hodge who responded by spraying him with an agency-issued chemical agent. Additional deputies were called to the cell after the suspect punched Hodge in the nose, breaking it.

The incident is not the first time Santiago-Muniz has been charged with battering someone at the jail. In June the suspect spit in the face of a licensed psychiatrist working at the South Polk County Jail.

He also punched the doctor repeatedly in the face.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says jail employees will not be assaulted with repercussions.

"We continue to send a clear message to anyone who resides in our jail that we absolutely will not tolerate this type of behavior," Judd explained. "Our detention deputies do a thankless job handling the care, custody and control of inmates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Any inmate who assaults a deputy or any other jail staff will be charged with a felony period."

The suspect is no stranger to felony charges. He arrived at the Polk County Jail on May 2^nd on attempted murder charges filed by the Lakeland Police Department.

Before this incident Santiago-Muniz was scheduled to be released from custody in August 2013. In 2009 the suspect was sentenced to 30 months in jail for a conviction out of Hillsborough County for battering a pregnant woman.