Three prisoners charged in connection with stabbing attack on prison guards

LANCASTER – Three inmates have been charged in connection with the Sept. 18 stabbing attack on multiple guards at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster, the state Executive Office of Public Safety said Saturday.

Jose R. Crespo, 39, Heriberto Rivera-Negron, 36, and Jeffrey Tapia, 30, face charges of mayhem, aggravated assault with murder and assault with murder. They were charged Friday and will appear in U.S. District Court in Clinton.

According to a statement from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, at approximately 6:20 p.m. on September 18, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections received a report of multiple injured corrections officers at the jail. A total of five corrections officers were sent to hospitals, one of whom was treated for several days for non-life-threatening injuries. Two corrections officers were attacked and received multiple stab wounds, while three other corrections officers were injured in response to the attack.

On September 21, the Massachusetts Correctional Officers Federal Association released a video of the attack.

The union is demanding a “full security assessment and review of all security-related policies, procedures and protocols in all Massachusetts prisons to ensure the safety of every staff member and inmate.”

Additionally, the union also called for the creation of a commission of lawmakers, state and union officials to address the issue of security within prison walls.

On Saturday, the union released the following statement:

Crespo, who is serving four concurrent life sentences for the 2016 murder of Kevin Cabrera-Soto of Fitchburg, will be arraigned Oct. 11 on the new charges.

“MCOFU is grateful to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office for its assistance in working with us to bring appropriate charges against the inmates involved in the ambush of our officers… We demand that DOC take action to increase prison security by removing deadly weapons and drugs that are too prevalent in our system. We remain focused on the safety of all people in the prison system, including our brothers and sisters at MCOFU.

“Attacks against our officers will not be tolerated, and the serious charges brought against these three individuals demonstrate that the Massachusetts Department of Corrections will take action. This type of violence is unacceptable and now those involved will be held accountable in court,” Department of Corrections Interim Commissioner Shawn Jenkins said in a statement. “The safety and health of our corrections officers is and will continue to be our priority, and we appreciate their commitment to DOC and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Our investigators have worked tirelessly since the incident to bring these charges.”

Rivera-Negron will be arraigned on October 10.

Tapia, who is serving a life sentence in connection with a fatal shooting in Lawrence in 2017, will be arraigned on Oct. 15.