TEXARKANA, Texas -- A woman sentenced in February to 18 years in prison for arson is accused of a March assault on a correctional officer at the Bowie County jail.
Sherelle Simone Hurd, 35, pleaded guilty Feb. 14 to arson with injury before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. She received an 18-year prison sentence as part of a plea bargain.
Hurd is being held in the Bowie County jail until she is transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Since pleading guilty to arson, Hurd has picked a new felony charge in the alleged assault of a correctional officer March 24 during a "shake down" of cells within the Bowie County jail annex, which is behind the Bi-State Justice Center in downtown Texarkana.
While the officer was conducting the search, Hurd allegedly became confrontational, pulling sheets and blankets away from the officer. When the officer instructed her to "hit the wall," Hurd allegedly began swinging her fists, striking the officer in her chest and head.
Video surveillance of the encounter allegedly confirms the officer's account.
If convicted of assault on a peace officer, Hurd faces two to 10 years in prison.
Hurd has been in Bowie County custody since her arrest for arson in June 2020.
Hurd made statements about burning the fire victim's home with him inside in the weeks leading up to the fire May 20, 2020, in the 1000 block of Daniels Chapel Road in New Boston, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The house's occupant, referred to in the affidavit as Hurd's uncle, told investigators he and Hurd had argued and that he had told her to pack her belongings and move out. He reported that Hurd said she was going to "burn this damn house down."
The fire victim was resting on a couch when he began to "smell smoke and feel heat." Smoke was escaping from around the door of the bedroom Hurd had used. When he opened the door, the man was severely burned in a flashover.
Burns to the man's head, ears and face were severe and caused his right eye to swell shut. After being treated in a Texarkana hospital, he was transferred to the burn unit of a hospital in Little Rock.
A neighbor reported seeing Hurd in an angry state, walking down the road, shortly before she saw smoke and flames coming from a nearby home.
Other witnesses told police Hurd had been heard making threats of arson.
"(The witness) stated Sherelle Hurd had been bragging all over town to people she was going to burn her uncle alive and burn his house down," the affidavit states.
Bowie County Fire Marshal Scottie Taylor determined the fire was arson.