Inmates jump 2 prison guards in attack in Tehachapi, officials say

Two corrections officers suffered minor injuries Monday night when they were attacked by two inmates serving life sentences at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi, officials said.

Authorities are investigating the attack, which took place about 6:45 p.m. in the housing unit office of Facility A, as an attempted homicide, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The office is used to prepare reports and maintain records of inmates in the building, a spokeswoman for the department said.

The inmates were subdued using pepper spray, and the officers were treated at area hospitals and released. A “shank,” or inmate-manufactured weapon, was recovered from the scene, officials said.

Both inmates involved — Alfonso Verduzco, 26, and Christian Rodriguez, 24 — were treated at the prison for minor injuries, then transported to another institution and rehoused in administrative segregation, according to the release.

Verduzco, of Indio, is serving a sentence of life with the possibility of parole after he was convicted in 2015 of attempted first-degree murder for shooting a rival gang member.

Rodriguez, of Oxnard, is serving a term of life without the possibility of parole after he was convicted in 2018 of first-degree murder for shooting and killing a 16-year-old rival gang member who was walking home from school.

It wasn’t immediately clear what additional charges the men would face in connection with the attack.