Jury Finds Inmate Guilty of Breaking Boo Henry’s Jaw in Jail

LIVINGSTON COUNTY – A jury convicted a Livingston County inmate on Wednesday of injuring two other inmates, one of whom was the notorious Boo Henry, in October 2015.

Orlando Hernandez, 43, will likely be sentenced to state prison for two counts of felony Assault in the Second Degree.

“I think this case goes to show that in Livingston County, if you’re the victim of a crime, the DA’s Office will prosecute that crime, no matter what you have done,” said Livingston County Assistant District Attorney Justin Hill, who prosecuted the case. “Boo Henry did lead law enforcement on a week-long manhunt in 2015. His actions did ultimately lead to a Sheriff’s Deputy becoming injured. But he was the victim of a vicious assault, and we followed through with this case against his attacker as we would any other.”

Video surveillance from the Livingston County Jail shows Hernandez with Henry, 36, and other inmates engaged in an intense game of handball. At one point there was a verbal dispute, during which Hernandez punched Henry seven times, splitting his jaw down the middle. Hernandez then stormed off, and inmate Allan Sullivan, 40, said something to him. Hernandez then punched him, knocking him from his chair. Jail Deputies arrived and took Hernandez away from the area.

Hill met with Henry, now at Bare Hill Correctional Facility serving a sentence for Assault in the Second Degree. Hill said that one year after the incident, Henry still cannot eat hard foods. It hurts him to yawn. He will likely need surgery later in life.

Sullivan suffered some hearing loss and pain after the assault.

Both Henry and Sullivan testified at the trial against Hernandez. So did Captain Jeff Hammond, Corporal Boe Langless, Deputy Adam Shultz, and Deputy Kurt Uhl, all of the Livingston County Sheriff’s Corrections Division.

Hernandez himself then took the stand, and said that he did what he did in self-defense. He said that he felt that Henry and Sullivan presented clear threats to him. At the time, he was a Monroe County inmate housed at the Livingston County Jail.

The jury returned a guilty verdict after approximately two hours of deliberations.

“I commend Justin for a great job and the jail staff for all their efforts in gathering evidence,” said District Attorney Greg McCaffrey. “This was a classic case of an experienced prosecutor getting a great result.”

An investigation is now underway to recommend a sentence to Judge Dennis Cohen. According to the NYS Department of Corrections, Hernandez has been imprisoned for three short periods at Five Points, Attica, and Greene Correctional Facilities over the past 18 years. Prison sentences were for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, respectively.

“The sentence for each of the assaults is 5 to 7 years, and due to his record he can be sentenced consecutively,” said Hill. “He could serve up to a total of 14 years.”