Inmate overheard threatening
to stab correctional officer
Three inmates planned
to stab correctional
officer and start riot
by Teresa Eubanks, CLJNews.com
BLOUNTSTOWN, FL – A plan to stab a correctional officer and start a riot was thwarted late Wednesday afternoon at the Calhoun County Jail when the staff learned about it just before it was to take place.
Three inmates – including two men awaiting trial for separate murders – were being held in the jail’s C-Pod, along with two other inmates who were not believed to be part of the plan. Four plastic forks hidden in the cell had been fashioned into weapons after being rubbed on the concrete to create a sharp point, according to Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Scheetz.
The captain said that three inmates were waiting to stab a female correctional officer who was due to make her usual check of their pod that afternoon. A short time earlier, someone walking through hall outside the pod overheard one of the men laying out their plan, stating, “When that b – – – – comes down and opens the door, we’re going to shank her a – – .”
Instead of the lone correctional officer showing up to make her rounds, the inmates got a surprise visit from the Jail Administrator, who was accompanied by the captain, sergeants and deputies.
When they ordered inmates to step out of the pod, two men came forward and were handcuffed but the three believed to be behind the plan refused to leave the pod. The staff then used tear gas to force the remaining three men out.
“It was necessary to ventilate the jail at that time,” the sheriff’s office explained in a news release today. “The inmates were separated into other pods. The pod in question has been sealed off and the search in this pod and investigation continues.”
Inmates were taken to the sally port inside the fenced recreation yard to wait for about 40 minutes until it was safe to go back inside. The three believed to be behind the plot remained handcuffed while the remaining 33 inmates from other pods were supervised by staff.
While the jail was being ventilated, dispatchers were moved to a mobile center in another building at the sheriff’s department. “With that mobile backup, we were still able to maintain communications,” explained Scheetz.
————————–
While enroute to Calhoun Jail after threat
discovered to harm correctional officer
CCSO sergeant injured
when truck & trailer pulls
into his path Wednesday
BLOUNTSTOWN, FL – While law enforcement officers and emergency workers were rushing to the Calhoun County Jail yesterday afternoon in response to a threat against a correctional officer from an inmate, one of their own – Sgt. Scotty Norris – was injured in a vehicle crash not far away at SR 20 and Mason Road.
Norris, who was responding to a call for back-up at the jail, was traveling west on SR 20 with lights and siren activated. At that time, a 59-year-old Blountstown man who was at the stop sign at Mason Road and SR 20 pulled out to make a left turn onto SR 20 and drove into the path of the oncoming 2023 Ford F150, which is registered to the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office.
Norris tried to take evasive action but collided with the truck, which was pulling a boat trailer. The front of the Chevrolet hit the left front of the Ford.
Both vehicles came to a stop on the south shoulder of SR 20 with emergency services arriving shortly afterwards. Both drivers were taken to Calhoun Liberty Hospital, where they were treated for their injuries and released.
About Author
