Prison Guard Is Stabbed to Death

A state correctional officer at the men’s prison in Chino was stabbed to death Monday, marking the first time in 20 years that a guard has been killed while on duty in one of California’s adult prisons.

All 32 state prisons were immediately put on “lockdown” status, with inmates stripped of all privileges and confined to their cells for at least 24 hours as officials sought to determine if the attack was part of a broader, orchestrated action against staff.

Manuel A. Gonzalez, 43, was stabbed three times about 10:50 a.m. in the Sycamore Hall housing unit at the California Institution for Men, officials said. Gonzalez, who was married with five children ages 6 to 17, died en route to a hospital. He had worked for the Department of Corrections since 1988.

Three suspects were questioned, but officials identified the alleged assailant as Jon Christopher Blaylock, 35, a convict from Los Angeles County who in June began serving a 75-year sentence for attempted murder of a peace officer.

Blaylock had been incarcerated twice before, for attempted burglary convictions in 1990 and in 1993. He was last paroled in April 2002. Prison sources said he suffers from a mental disorder.

Inmates Keith White and Henry Riley, who also were convicted in Los Angeles County, were being questioned. The three suspects are being transferred to other prisons. The three allegedly are members of the East Coast Crips street gang, officials said. In recent years, investigators have focused on the gang as a source of assault plots against staff at prisons statewide.

Roderick Q. Hickman, secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, traveled to the prison from Sacramento on Monday to meet with staff. In a statement, Hickman said, “There is no greater loss than to lose a brother officer killed in the line of duty.

“I know as professionals we will pull together to help Officer Gonzalez’s children and parents deal with this loss, and all of us throughout this state will pull together to help heal the wound that has been inflicted on our agency and state,” he said.

Leaders of the labor union that represents prison guards, the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., called the killing devastating.

“We’re stunned,” said union Executive Vice President Lance Corcoran. “We don’t have much information at this point, so we can’t point fingers. The institution is just in turmoil.”

Though assaults on officers are not uncommon, the last slaying of a prison guard in an adult facility occurred in 1985. Sgt. Howell Dean Burchfield, an officer at San Quentin, was stabbed with a crude spear as he was walking the tier and counting inmates. Since then, improvements in prison design, screening of incoming inmates and policies governing inmates’ lives have increased officer safety.

“But the risk is always there that we could be subjected to severe injury, or as in this case, give our lives for public safety,” said Corrections Director Jeanne Woodford.

Officials released few details of the incident. But prison sources, who asked not to be named, said Blaylock was considered a spokesman for African American inmates and was released from the cell he occupied alone about 10:10 a.m. to talk with prisoners who had complaints.

About 10:30 a.m., the sources said, an officer in the 17-cell unit saw Blaylock attacking Gonzalez, who was up against a wall. When the second officer yelled for Blaylock to get down, the inmate walked away and Gonzalez slumped to the floor.

Officials said that they had not recovered a weapon but believed that it was a crudely made knife. Neither Gonzalez nor the other officer was wearing a protective vest.

The unit is a reception center, where inmates are housed as they await transfer to other prisons.

Gonzalez worked at the state prisons in Corcoran and Lancaster before transferring to the Chino institution in 1996.

Woodford described him as “a consummate professional who was well-respected ... reliable and approached his responsibilities with a spirit of teamwork. He was friendly, went beyond his duties to assist other staff, communicated well with inmates, and worked to make our facilities safer.”

Since 1952, inmates have killed 19 male employees in adult prisons. Sixteen were custody officers and three were employees who were supervising inmates on work projects. Most of the deaths were from stabbings. Two were from gunshot wounds and two from bludgeoning. One victim was thrown from an upper prison tier.

Calling Gonzalez’ death “a tragic loss,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered flags at the Capitol flown at half-staff in his memory.