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N.Y. inmate charged after stabbing CO with homemade ice pick-style weapon

Amar Bell, 49, was indicted on felony charges after New York State Police said he punched and stabbed an officer during evening mealtime at Auburn Correctional Facility

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By David Wilcox
The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y.

AUBURN, N.Y. — After an investigation, a man incarcerated at Auburn Correctional Facility was processed last week on charges accusing him of stabbing an officer there in March.

Amar Bell, 49, was processed Sept. 18 after the investigation determined he approached the officer during evening mealtime March 2 and struck him in the face before stabbing him three times with a homemade, ice pick-style weapon, New York State Police said in a news release Monday.

The officer sustained one puncture wound on his upper left arm and two on his upper left back, requiring treatment at Auburn Community Hospital.

Facility staff recovered the weapon after the assault, state police said, and surveillance footage was reviewed during the investigation as well. It was conducted by state police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation in coordination with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Office of Special Investigations.

Bell was charged with second-degree assault and first-degree possession of dangerous prison contraband, both Class D felonies, as well as attempted aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, a Class E felony. He has been indicted by a Cayuga County grand jury.

After being processed Sept. 18, Bell was turned back over to DOCCS personnel, state police said.

He is serving 20 years to life for assault and weapon charges after slashing the face of an employee at a Yonkers store following an argument in 2013.

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