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Inmate attack on Calif. prison nurse investigated as attempted homicide

The nurse suffered a wound on the back of his head, was taken to a hospital and received 10 sutures

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A guard tower looms over the fence surrounding the California Correctional Health Care Facility in Stockton, Calif.

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Rosalio Ahumada
The Sacramento Bee

STOCKTON, Calif. — An inmate at a prison in Stockton hit a registered nurse on the head with an unknown object in an attack authorities were investigating as an attempted homicide, California prison officials said.

The nurse was recovering from his injuries at his home after the attack on Monday afternoon, according to a news release issued Tuesday by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The nurse suffered a wound on the back of his head, was taken to an outside hospital and received 10 sutures.

The inmate accused of attacking the nurse, Damien McDougland, was not injured during the incident and was being housed in maximum security cell, prison officials said.

The reported attack occurred at the California Health Care Facility about 2 p.m. Monday. The nurse was performing a clinical task, when McDougland, 36, hit the nurse on the back of the head with the object, according to the news release.

The Investigative Services Unit at the Stockton prison opened an investigation into the incident. Information gathered in the investigation will be handed over to the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office for consideration of prosecution on a charge of attempted murder, prison officials said. The Office of the Inspector General was notified of the incident.

McDougland is serving a 20-year prison sentence for a criminal conviction in Alameda County, which includes charges of assault with a deadly weapon, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, making criminal threats to cause great bodily injury or death and false imprisonment, according to the news release.

The Stockton prison provides medical and mental health care to inmates who have the most severe and long-term needs and currently houses nearly 2,500 inmates and employs about 4,000 staff members.

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©2020 The Sacramento Bee (Sacramento, Calif.)

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