Monterey Co.: 2 Prison Inmates Found Guilty Of Attempted Murder Of Corrections Officers

Bay City News

Two inmates in for murder who stabbed corrections officers in a prison near Soledad were both convicted in separate trials of attempted murder of a peace officer, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.

Inmates Oussama Sahibi and Carlos Perdomo are both facing life in prison for their crimes.

Sahibi was an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison on April 11, 2023, when he went to a lieutenant's office and asked him to reconsider an earlier ruling that punished him for using a controlled substance in violation of prison rules.

According to prosecutors, the lieutenant explained the appeal process to Sahibi and then told him to leave his office.

"When Sahibi turned his back, the lieutenant noticed he had one of his hands in his waistband," said the District Attorney's Office.

Believing Sahibi was reaching for a weapon, the lieutenant pushed him from behind to create distance.

"Less than a second later, Sahibi turned on him with a 9-inch inmate manufactured dagger in his hand and stabbed the lieutenant in the ear, back, shoulder and side," prosecutors said.

Other officers arrived and restrained Sahibi, who was ultimately convicted of first-degree attempted murder of a peace officer, assault by a life prisoner, assault with a deadly weapon and custodial possession of a weapon. The court also found that Sahibi had multiple previous "strike" convictions, including murder, attempted murder, assault with a firearm and assault on a peace officer.

Perdomo, also a prisoner at Salinas Valley State Prison, attacked corrections officers during a routine cell search on June 25, 2022, prosecutors said.

During their search and without warning, Perdomo pulled a 9-inch metal stabbing weapon from his waistband and attacked two officers, giving them serious stab wound injuries to their heads, arms, and torsos.

Perdomo was already investigated for an attack on an inmate in 2017, also with a prison shank.

A jury found Perdomo guilty of first-degree attempted murder of a peace officer, assault by a life prisoner, second-degree attempted murder, and possession of a weapon. He has two prior strikes for two first-degree murders, prosecutors said.

Perdomo is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13 and Sahibi will be sentenced on Nov. 15, according to prosecutors. Both are facing life in prison.

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