Inmate Assaults Officer at Arizona's Eyman Prison Complex; Inmate Escapes at Florence Prison

An unidentified male corrections officer was assaulted Monday by an inmate at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman. The ASPC-Eyman is located in Florence, Arizona, and holds approximately 4,500 inmates in five units. It is currently unknown what unit the officer and inmate involved were on, or how the inmate was able to attack the officer. However, according to a source inside the Eyman complex, the entire prison was temporarily locked down as a result of the assault. The source said, "The ICS was initiated, meaning there was some problem on complex. Then we heard the call for staff assault go out on the radio. That's never a good call-out."

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the pending investigation, the inmate used a homemade slashing weapon to assault the officer at the Eyman state prison facility in Florence.

The type of weapon the inmate used in Monday's assault has not yet been officially released by prison officials. The assault on the ASPC-Eyman corrections officer ended when other prison personnel released chemical agents on the inmate.

The officer injured in Monday's incident reportedly suffered wounds to his face, and was transported to Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn Hospital in Scottsdale, Arizona, for treatment. The officer was released later the same day.

A medical records representative at Scottsdale Osborn declined to comment Tuesday on whether the officer was transported via medical helicopter (Life-Flight) or via general ground transport in an ambulance.

Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn is located approximately 50 miles north of the Eyman prison facility, where the assault on the officer took place.

In other Arizona state prison news, an inmate from another Florence facility managed to escape custody over the weekend, and was recaptured Monday. Yelson Moreno, a twenty-year-old inmate serving a two and a half year sentence for theft, cut a hole in a perimeter fence surrounding the North Unit at ASPC-Florence and fled the prison early Sunday.

According to a report by Jordan Johnson of the Arizona Republic, inmate Moreno was discovered missing during institutional counts mid-morning on Sunday. By 11 am Sunday, Department of Corrections officials had alerted local authorities of the inmate escape.

Several local police agencies joined in the search for the inmate, including officials from the nearby Gila River Indian Community and Florence Police Department. Together with a Pinal County Sheriff's Deputy, D.O.C officers used a law enforcement K-9 dog to help track inmate Moreno down.

The escaped inmate was found hiding early Monday in a chili field in Casa Grande, several miles outside of Florence, and has been transferred to a higher-security facility within the state. He will likely face charges for fleeing the prison, and will likely be held in The Hole (isolation) for several months as a result of his escape. Yelson Moreno was previously being held at a minimum-security facility.

Source:
ASPC Staff
Jordan Johnson's AZ Republic article on Florence prison escape incident.