A well-known supermax prison in northern California, which housed infamous prisoners such as Marion “Suge” Knight and Charles Manson, was the scene of a violent attack on a prison guard Thursday.
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the alleged attempted homicide of a peace officer at Pelican Bay State Prison, which is located in Crescent City, just south of the Oregon border, and houses some of the country’s most dangerous criminals.
The attack took place in the dining hall around 7:15 a.m. Prison staff rushed to use pepper spray against the alleged perpetrators, after the officer suffered a laceration and puncture wounds.
The officer was thereafter transported to a nearby medical facility, where he was treated for his injuries and kept by doctors to undergo observation. The weapon was processed into evidence.
The three suspects are Jose Gonzalez, Richard Wilson, and Luis Torres, all of whom stand to have significant time added to their sentences in the wake of Thursday’s attack, if convicted.
In the aftermath of the attack, the three were transferred to another institution where they are now being held in restricted housing. The case will be referred to the Del Norte District Attorney’s Office for potential felony prosecution.
Gonzalez, 38, was serving life with the possibility of parole. He was sent to Pelican Bay in 2008 from Los Angeles County after being convicted of first-degree murder, evading or attempting to evade a peace officer while driving recklessly, in addition to the intentional discharge of a firearm resulting in great bodily injury or death.
Wilson, 32, was sent to Pelican Bay in 2015 from Sacramento County after being sentenced to 14 years for DUI and bodily injury, with one prior already on his record, as well as enhancements for a prior felony conviction of a serious offense and inflicting great bodily injury. He was also sentenced in San Luis Obispo County in 2018 to three years for battery on a non-prisoner while in prison. Furthermore, in 2021, he was sentenced by Del Norte County to an additional year for possession and manufacture of a deadly weapon while in prison.
Torres, 34, began serving his term in Pelican Bay in 2014 after being sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder with a second strike, intentional discharge of firearm causing great bodily injury or death. He received an additional four-year sentence while incarcerated for assault with great bodily injury. Like Gonzalez, he was sent from Los Angeles County, which lies 700 miles to the south of the prison.
Pelican Bay State Prison, built in 1989, holds approximately 2,000 incarcerated people in minimum, medium, high, and maximum security custody. The prison offers inmates academic courses, as well as vocational programs, rehabilitative programs, medical services, mental health services, religious services, work assignments and self-help groups. It employs approximately 1,400 people.
CDCR has not replied to a request for comment.
