On Friday, John Turscak, a former gang member and FBI informant currently incarcerated, faced charges of attempted murder for stabbing ex-Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin at a Federal Correctional Institution (FCI Tucson) in Tucson, Arizona.
Turscak allegedly stabbed Chauvin 22 times at FCI Tucson, expressing an intention to kill him if correctional officers had not intervened promptly, according to federal prosecutors.
Serving a 30-year sentence for crimes linked to the Mexican Mafia gang, Turscak admitted to contemplating the attack for about a month. He targeted Chauvin, the convicted murderer of George Floyd, due to Chauvin’s high-profile inmate status, prosecutors revealed. However, Turscak later denied any plan to kill Chauvin.
The assault took place in the prison’s law library on Nov. 24, with Turscak allegedly using an improvised knife. Bureau of Prisons employees ended the attack and administered life-saving measures before transporting Chauvin to a hospital.
In an interview with FBI investigators, Turscak stated that the Black Friday assault was symbolic of the Black Lives Matter movement, which grew in popularity after George Floyd’s death, and the “Black Hand” sign associated with the Mexican Mafia.
Facing charges including assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault with intent to commit murder, John Turscak could be sentenced to up to two decades in prison for each attempted murder and assault charge.
Currently, there is no listed lawyer for Turscak in court records. Turscak, who has represented himself in various court matters, was moved to an adjacent federal penitentiary in Tucson following the stabbing.
Chauvin, aged 47, was transferred to FCI Tucson in August 2022 from a maximum-security Minnesota state prison. He is concurrently serving federal and state sentences for violating Floyd’s civil rights and second-degree murder, respectively.
Eric Nelson, Chauvin’s lawyer, had previously recommended keeping him out of the general population due to concerns about him being a target. In Minnesota, Chauvin was mostly kept in solitary confinement for his protection, as stated in court papers Nelson wrote from the previous year.
The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, triggered worldwide protests and a national reckoning with police brutality and racism after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9.5 minutes. Floyd, who was Black, repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” in the moments leading up to his death.
Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/inmate-stabbed-derek-chauvin-22-times-charged-with-attempted-murder-prosecutors-say-1.6669908