California prison officials investigating stabbing attack on New Folsom inmate as homicide

A weekend death at the California State Prison, Sacramento is being investigated as a homicide, according to a news release Tuesday.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said guards saw inmates Gregory Roach, Ronald Ricks and Gregg Reynolds attack fellow inmate Randy Schlaepfer just after 9 a.m. Sunday. Guards used pepper spray and an “instantaneous blast grenade” to suppress the attack.

Schlaepfer was pronounced dead at 9:46 a.m. by Folsom Fire Department paramedics after being treated for multiple stab wounds.

Two weapons made by inmates were recovered from the scene, CDCR said. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will determine Schlaepfer’s official cause of death.

Schlaepfer, 55, was convicted of second-degree murder in Tulare County in 1995 and sentenced to life without parole. He had two previous charges of assault while incarcerated, including one with a deadly weapon.

Roach, 35; Ricks, 38; and Reynolds, 36 were all serving terms for multiple charges, including first-degree murder.

Ricks was taken to an outside medical facility where he was listed in “fair” condition, CDCR said. No other prison staff or inmates were hurt.

Roach and Reynolds were moved to restricted housing pending an investigation by the prison’s Investigative Services Unit and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office.