Man serving life sentence on murder conviction stabs two CT correction officers
A man serving a life sentence on a murder conviction stabbed two correction officers with a sharpened toothbrush Tuesday.
A man serving a life sentence on a murder conviction stabbed two correction officers at a prison in Newtown early Tuesday, state officials said.
Joe Baltas, 35, who has a history of assaulting correction and public safety officers, reportedly used a sharpened toothbrush as a makeshift knife to stab one Department of Correction officer in the neck and the other in the torso as he was being escorted from one part of the Garner Correctional Institution to another at about 8:25 a.m., according to the DOC.
Both injured officers were rushed to an area hospital before being treated and released Tuesday, the DOC said.
Baltas was immediately “secured” and transported to the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution’s Restrictive Housing Unit.
“As Commissioner, this is my worst fear – that our brave staff members are attacked and injured,” DOC Commissioner Angel Quiros said in a statement. “I rushed to the hospital as soon as I learned of the assault, and thank God, they are all right.
“This is a sobering reminder of the dangers our courageous correctional professionals face on a daily basis,” Quiros continued. “We must always remain vigilant. I am doubling down on my efforts to ensure the safety of these fine men and women.”
Connecticut State Police and the DOC are investigating the attack.
According to the DOC, Baltas has been in state custody since Oct. 26, 2006.
Baltas in 2010 was convicted in New Haven Superior Court on murder, assault and kidnapping charges in the killing of Michael Laverty. On Oct. 25, 2006, he attacked his girlfriend’s family, fatally stabbing Laverty, his girlfriend’s stepfather, and forcing his girlfriend to leave the family’s Meriden apartment following the attack.
Other family members were also injured in the incident.
According to the DOC, Baltas is serving a sentence of 96 years and six months.
Judicial records reviewed Tuesday indicate Baltas has racked up numerous cases in which he faces three counts of assault on a DOC employee, more than 10 counts of assault on a public safety officer and three counts of having a weapon in a corrections institution. Those cases remain pending.
The incident Tuesday comes on the heels of serious assault on a correction officer in June in the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.
“Something has to change before someone else is seriously assaulted,” Steven Schortman, correction officer at MacDougall-Walker and executive board member of the American Federation State County Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 391, said during a remote press conference following the June attack.
Ten days after the attack in MacDougall-Walker, DOC officials and union representatives announced they had agreed to examine policies and procedures for trauma endured by staff.