A Carbon County woman was sentenced to a state prison term last week in the county court on charges she assaulted a fellow inmate at the county prison.

Sara Mary Hargreaves, 43, of Nesquehoning, was sentenced by President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II to serve one to three years in a state correctional institution on a charge of assault by prisoner, a felony 2. In exchange for the plea a felony 1 count of aggravated assault, and misdemeanor counts of simple assault and recklessly endangering another person were dropped.

She was arrested for an incident on March 26 filed by Carbon County Detective Timothy Nothstein.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Nothstein:

At 10:45 a.m. on March 26, Nothstein was notified that Hargreaves assaulted another inmate, causing her to fall through the railing from the upper tier to the floor of the lower level. The inmate was transported to St. Luke’s Miners Campus, in Coaldale, for treatment.

Surveillance footage shows that at 8:38 a.m. Hargreaves, after arguing with other inmates, returned to the cell and got into a fight with the two inmates. Hargreaves pulled one of the inmates by her hair out of the cell and threw her across the floor and caused her to fall through the railing and injure her back.

Hargreaves told Nothstein the attack resulted from an incident that occurred the night before when the inmate made comments to her that she didn’t like. They began arguing and fighting, resulting in Hargreaves being removed from the cell and placed in another cell on the lower tier.

Hargreaves said that she went to the cell to get the rest of her belongings, they argued and the inmate yelled to her, “Come back in here, let’s finish this!”

Nanovic also ordered Hargreaves to get a drug and alcohol evaluation and follow any recommendation for treatment, pay court costs of over $1,000 and supply a DNA sample.

She was given credit for 102 days already served. The term runs consecutive to a sentence imposed in January on a drug counts of three to one day less 24 months in prison imposed by Judge Steven R. Serfass. She is an inmate in the county prison and now will be transferred to a state prison.