A Warren County man was sentenced to three decades behind bars Friday following his second conviction on charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer.

Ninth Judicial District Circuit Clerk Judge Toni Terrett sentenced Jeffery Morrison to 30 years in prison, with 20 to be served, for aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer and attempted escape from jail.

Warren County Assistant District Attorney Branan Southerland argued Morrison had a lengthy list of prior offenses, as well as a prior conviction in 1994 for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and should receive the maximum sentence. Morrison had 12 previous felony convictions for crimes ranging from burglary, possession of cocaine and marijuana and assault. Morrison currently has a third charge for assault on a law enforcement officer pending from an alleged incident in 2023.

Although Morrison’s defense attorney, Yemi Kings, argued her client has not had any incidents while in custody at Yazoo County Jail, Terrett issued the maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

Morrison pleaded guilty to all charges in October in Terrett’s courtroom. The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred during Morrison’s incarceration in September of 2022 and involved an assault on a jailer who was attempting to refill his water bottle, Southerland said. At the time, Morrison was incarcerated for an aggravated assault charge.

Morrison pleaded guilty to charges that he began a physical altercation with the officer, in which he bit the officer, tearing his clothes and breaking the skin. Southerland reported the officer has a permanent scar from the incident.

Morrison will still face his pending charges from 2023, although no court dates have been officially set.