Two Pinal County jail officers are recovering from wounds suffered when they were attacked by three inmates on Wednesday, officials said.
A sheriff's lieutenant was stabbed multiple times by two inmates in the incident. A detention sergeant who was rushing to help the lieutenant was assaulted by a third inmate, according to a news release from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.
The lieutenant is recovering from his wounds at a hospital. The sergeant received a hand injury that did not require hospitalization.
The sheriff's office said the three inmates who attacked the officers are known gang members and used homemade "shanks" to stab the lieutenant. The homemade weapons had been cut from bunks and ground to have sharp edges, the office said.
The attack occurred in a common area of the Pinal County Jail at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. As the two officers were checking the common area, two inmates attacked and stabbed the lieutenant. As the sergeant came to his aid, he was blocked and attacked by the third inmate. Other jail staff arrived and subdued the three inmates, the news release said.
The inmates involved in the stabbing were identified Robert Villalobos, 29, and Santiago Sanchez, 26. The other inmate involved was identified by the sheriff's office as Mauricio Moraga, 25.
Villalobos is in jail for 2014 charges of conspiracy to commit murder, robbery and weapons violations; Moraga is awaiting sentencing for manslaughter; and Sanchez is in custody for a 2015 weapons violations.
Charges related to the attack on the two jail employees are pending, the sheriff's office said.
