Lexington man previously charged in apartment fire now accused of biting jail officer

A Lexington man who was accused of setting his own apartment on fire in 2017 has now been accused of biting a corrections officer at the Fayette County jail.

Mahmoud Nehad Sabbooba, 27, has been indicted on a charge of third-degree assault, according to court records. He is accused of biting a corrections employee on the hip on March 16 while being restrained to be relocated in the Fayette County Detention Center , according to the indictment.

After the 2017 fire, Sabbooba was charged with first-degree arson. Police who responded to the fire told WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s reporting partner, that Sabbooba admitted to setting his room on fire to get attention from police and firefighters. 

The arson charge was later amended to a count of second-degree criminal mischief, according to court records.

Sabbooba was transferred from the Fayette County jail to the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center on May 6, jail spokesman Lt. Matthew LeMonds said.

An arraignment for the new charge is scheduled for Thursday.

This story was originally published May 29, 2019 at 2:59 PM.