PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Officials say a man charged with the random killing of a Maine tree farmer was accused of assaulting an officer inside a jail before his scheduled court appearance on a murder charge.

WGME-TV reports the officer was taken to the hospital after the encounter with Quinton Hanna on Thursday.

Hanna, of Freeport, is charged in the death of 82-year-old James Pearson, of Scarborough. Police said Hanna killed Pearson, a fixture in the community for decades, in his front yard on Sunday.

The medical examiner’s office determined Pearson was stabbed to death.