Three Inmates Indicted for Attempted Murder of Correctional Officer at Federal Penitentiary

BIG STONE GAP, VA—United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy announced today that three former inmates at the United States Penitentiary at Lee County were indicted by a federal grand jury sitting in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia in Abingdon.

Jose Corral, 25, Oscar Jimenez Alcala, 37, and Juan Domingo Baltodano, 37, were charged in a multi-count indictment related to assaults on correctional officers that occurred on October 16, 2011, at the United States Penitentiary at Lee County, located in Jonesville, Virginia. The indictment alleges that the inmates used a pen converted into a stabbing weapon to assault a correctional officer in a housing unit at the penitentiary.

Coral is charged with two counts of assault of a correctional officer that resulted in bodily injury or involved a weapon, which each carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment; one count of conspiracy to assault a correctional officer, which carries a potential sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment; one count of conspiracy to commit murder, which carries a potential sentence of up to life imprisonment; and one count of assault with intent to commit murder, which carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Coral also faces potential fines in the amount of $1,250,000.

Baltodano and Alcala are each charged with one count of assault of a correctional officer that resulted in bodily injury or involved a weapon, which carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment; one count of conspiracy to assault a correctional officer, which carries a potential sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment; one count of conspiracy to commit murder, which carries a potential sentence of up to life imprisonment; and one count of assault with intent to commit murder, which carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Baltodano and Alcala each face potential fines in the amount of $1,000,000.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the United States Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bristol, Virginia Resident Agency. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary T. Lee will prosecute the case for the United States.

A grand jury indictment is only a charge and not evidence of guilt. The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.