Guards assaulted by inmates at prison in Warren County

Three prisoners involved in incident at Warren Correctional.

Three prison inmates are expected to face charges of assaulting corrections officers or possession of a deadly weapon while under detention after an incident Dec. 13 at Warren Correctional Institution outside Lebanon.

“Two suspect inmates assaulted multiple corrections officers at Warren Correctional Institution. A third suspect was found to be in possession of a deadly weapon,” according to the narrative of the report released Friday following a public records request by this news organization.

In December, after 27 years of use, the state approved $585,000 contract to replace the prison's electronic door locking system.

On Friday, it remained unclear how many and how seriously the guards were injured during the incident involving inmates under the influence of alcohol, according to the report.

None of the inmates or guards involved are identified in the report.

According to the report, the incident began at 8:14 p.m. Dec. 13 and ended seven minutes later. The highway patrol’s investigative unit was contacted at 9:16 p.m.

Because the incident is the subject of a continuing investigation, the Ohio Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which manages the state’s prisons, referred questions, including whether the incident was related to a change in policy involving the handling of violent inmates, to the Ohio Highway Patrol.

On Friday, Trooper Joe Griffith, who investigates incidents at prisons in Warren County, confirmed guards were injured but said none seriously.

However, Griffith referred questions about the incident to Trooper Laura Harvey, who now investigates incidents at Warren Correctional, one of two prisons on Ohio 63 in Turtlecreek Twp., Warren County.

She and the supervisor, Sgt. James Schlotterbeck, could not be reached.

The charges of assaulting correction officers and possession of a deadly weapon while under detention are listed in the incident report.

It was unclear whether the inmates had been charged in Lebanon Municipal Court or if the case would be referred directly to a Warren County grand jury.

Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said his office had not received the case yet.