A prisoner serving life for second-degree murder at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Center is suspected in the attempted homicide of a prison guard, correction officials said Monday.
At about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Nelson Barrera allegedly stabbed an officer’s protective vest twice, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The officer was treated, medically cleared and was resting at home Monday, officials said.
Barrera was accused of using an improvised weapon to stab the unidentified officer, who left the area and called for help, the statement said. Guards blocked the prisoner in his cell and made several attempts to force him to give up his weapon.
Barrera allegedly punched a security window and injured his arms and hands, prison officials said. The prisoner eventually gave guards his weapons and was handcuffed and treated by the prison’s medical staff. He was then transferred to another prison.
Barrera faces felony prosecution by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. He was sent to the San Diego prison from San Francisco County in 2011. He had been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder and firing a gun causing great bodily injury and death.
