Jury finds Lawrence man guilty of biting corrections officer

photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World
The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured on Sept. 4, 2024.
A Douglas County jury on Tuesday convicted an inmate of the Douglas County Jail of battery on a law enforcement officer.
The defendant, Cetewayo M. Ragins, 43, of Lawrence, was found guilty of biting a corrections officer in the leg, a felony, in June of last year at the jail.
The jury in Judge Amy Hanley’s courtroom reached its verdict after about four hours of deliberations. Earlier Tuesday, Ragins took the stand in his own defense and testified that prior to biting the officer, he had smoked a substance he had found in a dumpster and began hallucinating that a war was taking place, leading to the violent incident.
Ragins has multiple other cases pending against him in Douglas County, including charges of battery, interference with law enforcement and aggravated assault. A sentencing date for Tuesday’s conviction has not been set.