HIV-Positve Man Sentenced to 15 years in Prison for Biting Police Officer
Posted By Brett Schwartz on Aug 27, 2009 11:31am PDT
An HIV-positive homeless man convicted of biting a Miami police officer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. A judge sentenced Johnson Jamerson, 35, at a Wednesday hearing. He was convicted in June of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, although he was originaly charged with attempted murder. Authorities say Jamerson attacked Officer Matthew Hall while trying to escape a police bus headed to jail. The man reportedly yelled that he had HIV and threatened to kill the officer before biting him hard enough to draw blood. Hall ultimately tested negative for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but only after months of taking precautionary medication that caused diarrhea, vomiting and nausea. Aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer carries a maximum prison term of 30 years as it is a first degree felony in Florida.