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Virginia: Inmate, MS-13 gang member who killed K-9 dog, stabs two corrections officers

Crystal Graham
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Two Virginia corrections officers at Greensville Correctional Center were stabbed by an inmate and alleged MS-13 gang member.

Axel Wilfredo Ortiz Garcia, 26, is accused of attacking the two officers at 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday.

The two officers were transported to a hospital for treatment. Both officers were later discharged.

Ortiz Garcia has also been charged for killing a K-9 dog named Rivan and attacking a Sussex I State Prison corrections officer in April. Ortiz Garcia was one of four inmates who attacked another inmate before going after the officer and K-9 dog that responded to the attack.

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.

Ortiz Garcia is a Guatemalan national who 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 three years for the second, which made his total sentence for 16 years.

The Virginia Department of Corrections will work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to fulfill a detainer for Ortiz Garcia’s deportation following completion of his sentence.

The investigation by VDOC related to Tuesday’s stabbing is ongoing.

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Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.