The Mississippi attorney general’s office says an employee at a state-run residential mental retardation facility has been fined for throwing a stapler that struck a resident.

Attorney General Jim Hood says 48-year-old Gary Hardy of Laurel was charged with one count of Misdemeanor Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult stemming from the July 2008 incident at the Ellisville State School.

A Jones County justice court judge ordered Hardy, a veteran employee at the school, to pay a $355 fine and court costs.

Hood did not say if the resident was injured.