By Nelson Espinal
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — An inmate in custody on a murder charge tried to stab another inmate and a deputy this week with a makeshift knife at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, officials said Thursday, June 13.
On Tuesday, June 11, Christopher Lommie Jackson, 25, of San Bernardino, allegedly armed himself with a metal knife made in jail and attempted to stab an inmate with whom he had gotten into a fight, and then the deputy, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s news release.
Video footage released from the sheriff’s department showed that an inmate, identified as Jackson, knocked the 45-year-old deputy to the ground while surrounding deputies stopped the assault.
The deputy who was attacked sustained moderate injuries to his face and was treated and released from a hospital, the release said.
Jackson has been in custody since 2019. He has had multiple prior arrests for violent offenses in San Bernardino County, officials said.
There have been 51 attacks on jail deputies by inmates in San Bernardino County this year, according to the release. From 2022 through 2023, authorities said, there were 236 assaults on deputies.
“Our deputies work tirelessly to maintain order and provide a secure environment within our correctional facilities,” Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a statement. We will pursue the maximum legal consequences for those who carry out attacks in our correctional facilities.”
A criminal report for attempted murder will be filed with the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office regarding the knife attack, the sheriff’s department said. They also released a video of the attack.
In the video below, Gordon Graham advises corrections officers on the importance of vigilance in preventing the creation and use of makeshift weapons in jails.
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