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San Quentin Guard Attacked By Death Row Inmate In Prison's Shower

SAN QUENTIN (CBS SF) -- A guard at San Quentin was attacked by an inmate last week, according to the department of corrections.

38-year-old convicted gang member Richard Penunuri attacked the correctional officer as he was being secured in a shower stall.

Penunuri's handcuffs were being removed in the prison's East Block Housing Unit when he grabbed the officer's right arm, using an "inmate-manufactured" weapon to cut the officer's arm.

The officer suffered a significant injury, and was taken to an outside hospital where he was expected to make a full recovery.

In January 2006, Penunuri slashed another guard at San Quentin with a razor-like weapon as he was getting his handcuffs removed through a portal in his cell door. The officer was cut on his forearm nearly to the bone and required 30 stitches.

 

Penunuri was sentenced to death in Los Angeles in 2001 for murdering two teenagers and ordering the murder of a potential witness against him. He has been on death row since 2001.

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