VADOC Investigating the Stabbing of Two Corrections Officers by I...

Press Release

VADOC Investigating the Stabbing of Two Corrections Officers by Inmate

October 02, 2024

RICHMOND - The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is currently investigating the stabbing of two Corrections Officers by an inmate at Greensville Correctional Center.

The attack occurred at approximately 2:35 p.m. Tuesday, October 1. The two officers were transported to a hospital for treatment. Both officers were later discharged from the hospital.

Inmate Axel Wilfredo Ortiz Garcia, 26, is accused of attacking the two officers. Ortiz Garcia is a confirmed affiliate of the MS-13 gang who has also been charged in the April attack at Sussex I State Prison of a Corrections Officer and killing of her assigned K-9, Rivan.

Ortiz Garcia is a Guatemalan national who was in the United States illegally at the time of his arrest, having been processed through Falfurrias Station in Falfurrias, Texas. He was incarcerated following convictions in 2018 in Richmond City Circuit Court for aggravated malicious wounding and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. He was sentenced to 40 years with 27 suspended for the first charge, and 3 years for the second, which made his total sentence 16 years.

The VADOC will work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to fulfill a detainer for Ortiz Garcia's deportation following completion of his sentence. The VADOC routinely works with ICE to deport individuals with deportation detainers.

Ortiz Garcia was being temporarily detained at Greensville Correctional Center pursuant to a court order issued by Sussex County Circuit Court related to the prosecution of the violent April attack. Due to his maximum-security status, the VADOC had been seeking a reconsideration of that ruling.

The investigation is ongoing. No further details will be provided at this time.