Inmate who injured officer had history of making threats, NC prison records show

A North Carolina prison officer is in stable condition after being attacked by an inmate Saturday night, the state Department of Public Safety said Monday.

19-year-old Jose Rios used a homemade weapon during the attack at Foothills Correctional Institution in Morganton and caused “multiple wounds,” DPS said. WBTV reported that the officer was stabbed five times.

Rios was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in July 2017 and has a projected release date in 2051, according to DPS records. The murder charges came from a 2015 case in Gaston County, records said.

He’s been in prison for about eight months and had been charged with infractions six times prior to Saturday’s incident, DPS records said. The infractions include possession of a weapon, fighting with a weapon and two cases of threatening to injure prison staff.

The officer, who has not been identified, is still in the hospital, Prisons Director Kenneth Lassiter said in a statement released Monday.

“I appreciate the prompt response of the other prison staff who came to the officer’s aid and we are all hopeful the officer, who remains in stable condition, will be released from the hospital very soon,” Lassiter said.

Rios will be charged in the assault, DPS officials said.

This story was originally published March 18, 2018 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Inmate who injured officer had history of making threats, NC prison records show."