The U.S. Attorney’s office has charged a fellow inmate with the Black Friday stabbing of Derek Chauvin on November 24.
On Friday, December 1, 52-year-old John Turscak was charged with attempted murder for stabbing Chauvin 22 times with an “improvised” knife. Court documents and other news outlets report Chauvin was in the law library making copies when Turscak said he saw an opportunity to attack.
Turscak told FBI agents that he had considered assaulting Chauvin for a month because he is a high-profile inmate, and mentioned that he would have killed Chauvin had prison guards not responded in time. The criminal complaint says Turscak decided to assault him on Black Friday because of its symbolism for the Black Lives Matter movement and the “Black Hand” symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia.
In addition to the attempted murder charge, the U.S. Attorney’s Office also charged Turscak with assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The attempted murder and assault with intent to commit murder each carry maximum penalties of 20 years in prison. Assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury each carry maximum sentences of 10 years.
Turscak is currently serving a 30-year sentence for racketeering and conspiring to kill rival gang members. A former leader of the Mexican Mafia, he committed those crimes while acting as an informant for the FBI in 1997. The FBI ultimately stopped working with Turscak, who helped the FBI secure more than 40 indictments, after he admitted to dealing drugs, extorting money and allowing fellow gang members to assault others.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Turscak said during his sentencing in 2001 that he believed he had the FBI’s blessing to do those crimes because the FBI told him to do whatever he needed to do to stay alive.
The federal prison in Tucson has been beset by safety and maintenance issues over the past several years, in part because of staffing issues. Last November, an inmate managed to obtain a weapon and tried unsuccessfully to shoot a visitor at an adjacent prison camp, according to local media.
In April 2022, an altercation resulted in the death of Austin Carlin, who was convicted in Texas for kidnapping a minor and taking them across state lines. In 2018, former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted of abusing over 150 girls during his career, said he was assaulted while at FCI Tucson.
Chauvin is serving a 22-and-a-half-year state sentence for murdering George Floyd at 38th and Chicago by kneeling on his neck for nine and a half minutes, while serving as a Minneapolis police officer. He is also concurrently serving a 21-year federal sentence for violating the civil rights of Floyd and one other person he detained.
Other media outlets report Chauvin’s attorneys and family were able to contact Chauvin on Friday. He has been released from the Banner University Medical Center hospital and is back in the federal correctional facility in Tuscon. His attorney has been contacted for comment.
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