A Florida inmate is being hailed as a hero after she saved the life of a deputy who was being attacked at the Falkenburg Road Jail. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said that two inmates, Bridgette Harvey and April Colvin, plotted to escape the detention center.
The incident started when Harvey approached Deputy Lillian Jimenez, claiming that Colvin was sick. When Jimenez went to check on Colvin, Harvey snuck up behind her and started choking her with a pillowcase and stabbing her with a shank.
Several inmates, including Mary Jean, rushed over to help Jimenez and stopped the attack. Thanks to the quick intervention by Jean, Jimenez only suffered minor injuries to her neck and throat.
"She said she saw the deputy's feet in the air, and she had to do what she could – and there was possibly a shank that she saw at the moment," Denitsa Kolev, one of Jean's attorneys, told WTVT.
Harvey was detained and charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer with a weapon, introduction of contraband into a detention facility, and escape from confinement.
Harvey told investigators that she attacked Jimenez so she could steal her keys and use them to escape the prison with Colvin. Officials said that Colvin was also charged with attempting to escape confinement.
"While these inmates put our deputy in danger, there were others who did the right thing by coming to her aid, and for that, I am grateful," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "Thanks to the quick response of our Emergency Response Team and the inmates who showed compassion to help our deputy, a dire situation turned into the safe rescue of Deputy Jimenez. The assailant and her co-conspirator now face additional charges for assaulting her."