WORCESTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Dozens of correction officers were present in a Worcester courtroom Thursday morning.
Several inmates were in court facing charges in connection with a prison attack. At least two of the suspects in the attack are already serving life sentences.
Two corrections officers were stabbed and three other officers were injured last year in the attack at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster. That attack was caught on surveillance video, and multiple inmates are facing charges.
Jose Crespo, 39, suspected to be the leader of the attack, denied responsibility in court. He is accused of repeatedly stabbing Officer Stephen Adams.
“He hid in a cell doorway and struck Officer Adams with a sharp, bladed instrument,” said prosecutor Anthony Melia. “He took Officer Adams down the housing unit, repeatedly stabbing him in the back, chest, and neck area.”
Crespo is already serving a life sentence for a different crime, Melia said.
Jeffrey Tapia, 30, who is also already serving a life sentence, is accused of keeping the fight with the prison guards going.
“Jeffrey Tapia jumped on Officer Adams, attempted to hold him to the ground, wrapped his arms around his legs, and delivered blows to Officer Adams and arriving officers,” Melia said.
Authorities said 36-year-old Heriberto Rivera-Negron was also involved in the attack.
“He came running out of the rec deck and saw an opportunity he could not resist, and entered the fray, and began kicking and punching multiple officers, including Officer Adams,” Melia said.
Months later, one of the attacked guards wears a sling around his arm.
The Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union supports its injured colleagues and says members are glad the inmates involved in the attack are finally facing charges.
“We need a lot more protection. We need the administrations and this department to act accordingly, whether it’s more lockdowns, more searches,” said Dennis Martin, president of the union. “This is a long recovery. It’s not just the healing part of it. It’s the mental part of it, as well. It’s a traumatic event that happened.”
The inmates that appeared in court Thursday were ordered held without bail and sent back to custody. They’re expected back in court next month.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)