Convicted killer from Stanislaus suspected of trying to kill officer at Pelican Bay prison

A prison inmate convicted of a deadly shooting in Turlock eight years ago is suspected of attempting to kill a correctional officer at Pelican Bay State Prison on Saturday.

Devanae Price, 33, of Ceres allegedly stabbed and struck the officer multiple times in a restricted housing unit at the prison in Del Norte County, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Price was being escorted to his cell at about 6:35 p.m. when he partly freed himself from handcuffs, a CDCR news release said. The inmate struck one officer in the face.

Prison staff responded but Price ignored their orders and continued to strike the officer in the head and upper body.

Other officers were able to stop the attack. The news release said an inmate-made weapon was recovered from the scene.

The CDCR said the correctional officer was stabbed in the head. In addition, two puncture holes were found in the officer’s protective vest.

The officer suffered swelling to the head and other minor injuries. The officer, whose name wasn’t released, was taken to an area medical facility and was treated and released the same evening.

The assault is under investigation. Price was being held in the restricted housing unit. The news release said the case will be referred to the Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office for a possible attempted-homicide prosecution.

The 2017 fatal shooting in Turlock

In November 2017, Price was convicted and sentenced in Stanislaus County to 60 years to life for a shooting that killed 37-year-old Falane Jones at the Villas Parkside apartments in Turlock.

According to witnesses, a black car entered the parking lot of the complex on West Hawkeye Avenue on April 23, 2016. Jones and an uncle were visiting another family member at the apartment complex when he was shot four times in the face, neck and chest.

Price was a two-strike offender and felon in possession of a firearm. The Ceres man also has been prosecuted for previous offenses at Pelican Bay prison.

In July 2022, he was sentenced in Del Norte County to more than four years for battery on a nonprisoner and resisting a correctional officer with threats or violence. He was convicted and sentenced in September 2023 to four years for possession or manufacturing a deadly weapon within prison walls.