By Cathy Locke
The Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO — A staff physician at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione is reportedly recovering from injuries suffered Monday when she was attacked by an inmate.
Shortly after 8 a.m., inmate Robert Daniel Perry, 61, arrived for a medical appointment at the prison. Without warning, he grabbed the doctor by her hair and started choking her, a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation news release states.
During the struggle, the doctor activated her personal alarm device. Other medical staff members responded and grabbed the doctor from the inmate’s hold, officials said.
Custody staff members also responded and used physical force to subdue and restrain Perry. One correctional sergeant suffered a cut to his arm and a second sergeant was exposed to blood, the news release states.
Officials said staff members recovered a weapon the inmate had made from two razor blades and found another weapon in his cell.
The 65-year-old doctor, a 20-year veteran of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, suffered redness and bruising to her neck and is recovering at home, officials said.
The prison’s investigative services unit is investigating the incident, and the Amador County District Attorney’s Office was notified.
Perry was received by the state prison system from Placer County in June 1998. He is serving a 100-year sentence for making terrorist threats, stalking and attempted extortion. In December 2006, he began serving a 50-year sentence from Kings County for two counts of battery on a non-prisoner.