SEDGWICK COUNTY — An inmate who admitted throwing scalding water on a Kansas jail deputy will learn his fate Friday.
Judge Chrystal Krier will sentence 21-year-old James Chavez. In July he entered a guilty plea to charges of aggravated battery.
On April 14, a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Detention Deputy suffered serious burns after an inmate identified as Chavez launched a targeted attack inside the Sedgwick County Adult Detention Facility.
The incident happened while the deputy was speaking with inmates in a housing pod. Chavez obtained a pot of boiling water and threw it on the deputy, causing second and third-degree burns to the back part of his body.
Sedgwick County EMS transported the deputy to a local hospital, where he was admitted to the Burn Unit. The 30-year-old deputy who has served with the Sheriff’s Office for nearly two years was expected to make a full recovery.
Chavez was originally booked into the detention facility in March 2024 on pending juvenile charges and later faced an additional charge for trafficking contraband into a correctional facility. He has had 39 documented disciplinary incidents since entering the facility.