Zachary O’Meara, a 28-year-old inmate at the United States Penitentiary Canaan, has been sentenced to 45 months in prison for assault with a dangerous weapon. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Julia K. Munley on September 3, 2025.
Acting United States Attorney John Gurganus stated that O’Meara stabbed another inmate multiple times in the head with an inmate-manufactured weapon on September 24, 2024. “The victim sustained six lacerations to the back of his head and one laceration to his right temple that required surgical sutures,” Gurganus said. Prison officials recovered the weapon after the incident; it was described as a five-inch-long shank made from melted plastic with a sharpened metal tip.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Scranton Office led the investigation into the case. Assistant United States Attorney Tatum R. Wilson prosecuted.
