STAFF REPORTS
BUFFALO — Ziyaya Mtola, 44, of Capetown, South Africa, who was convicted following a jury trial of assaulting a federal officer and destroying government property, was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. Following the completion of his sentence, the defendant will be deported to South Africa.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan P. Cantil, who handled the prosecution of the case, stated that, on May 14, 2017, the defendant threw feces in the face and on the body of a female corrections officer at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia. After this incident, and continuing over the following 10 days, Mtola destroyed two sprinkler systems in the detention facility, smeared feces on a cell door, and destroyed a cell window.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly.
