Inmate accused in nurse attack has prior assault record

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The man accused of assaulting a nurse while in custody at the county jail appeared before a judge Friday morning.

Cordarius Fisher stood before a judge to hear his rights and his new charge of simple assault. The charge is a Class A misdemeanor, which comes with a sentence of 11 months, 29 days, the judge said.

Fisher wore a red jumpsuit in court, the sign of a high-profile inmate according to several sources with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

The nurse told WREG she was passing out medication to inmates at 201 Poplar when Fisher allegedly made sexual gestures and threats towards her before attacking.

“I said could you please move? Could you please move? I put my hand up and that’s when he got his fist and hit me in the face,” she said.

Fisher was originally in jail for two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, and theft.

A look at Fisher’s record shows he is no stranger to the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center.

We first reported on Fisher two months ago when police say he tried to break into a woman’s car with a chainsaw, after breaking into her home a month prior.

He’s been found guilty numerous times of assault, primarily against women.

In 2022, he was found guilty of assaulting a woman who was holding her child in her arms.

In another case, he was sentenced for throwing a chair at a woman after a verbal altercation.

In the alleged assault against the nurse, court documents say Fisher was standing in the hallway waiting to be relocated to another housing unit when the nurse encountered him. The report says the reported assault was captured on video.

The victim tells us Fisher was not restrained.

“That’s negligence on the security part, because he was supposed to be in handcuffs,” she said.

We asked the sheriff’s office why Fisher was being relocated without handcuffs and where the officer who was relocating him was.

A spokesman says they are looking into it.

Fisher is now being held on a $37,500 bond for all current charges. He is due back in court on Tuesday.

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