Attempted Homicide of Pelican Bay State Prison Officer Under Investigation

DEL NORTE - California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the alleged attempted homicide of a peace officer at Pelican Bay State Prison (PBSP).

On Aug. 24, 2024, at approximately 6:35 p.m., incarcerated person Devanae Price was being escorted to his cell in the restricted housing unit when he partially freed himself from handcuffs and struck an officer in the face. Staff immediately responded and Price ignored orders to get down. Price continued to strike the officer in the head and torso.

Staff used physical force to quell the attack. An inmate-manufactured weapon was found at the scene.

The officer was stabbed in the head and two puncture wounds were discovered in his stab-resistant vest. Swelling to the head and other minor injuries were found during a medical evaluation. The officer was transported to an outside medical facility, treated and released that evening.

Price remains within the restricted housing unit. Prison officials are currently investigating the incident. The case will be referred to the Del Norte District Attorney's Office for possible felony prosecution.

Peer support services are being offered to employees.

Price, 33, was most recently received from Stanislaus County on Nov. 7, 2017, sentenced to life with the possibility of parole for second-degree murder as a second striker and possessing/owning a firearm by a felon or addict as a second striker, with enhancements for a prior felony conviction of a serious offense and intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death.

Price was sentenced by Del Norte County on July 7, 2022, to four years, four months for in-prison offenses of battery of a non-prisoner and resisting or deterring an officer with threats or violence. He was also sentenced by Marin County on September 7, 2023, to four years for an in-prison offense of possession or manufacture of a deadly weapon by an incarcerated person as a second striker.

Activated in 1989, PBSP houses approximately 2,200 minimum-, medium-, high- and maximum-security custody incarcerated people. Located 13 miles from the Oregon-California border, PBSP offers academic classes, vocational programs, rehabilitative programs, medical services, mental health services, religious services, work assignments and self-help groups, and employs approximately 1,400 people.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 26, 2024

Contact: CDCR Press Office: [email protected]

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.