Calif. Prison Inmate Fatally Shot By Guards Responding To Inmate Attack

SACRAMENTO, CA — The death of a California state prison inmate shot by correctional officers at California State Prison-Sacramento (SAC), a maximum-security facility next to Folsom State Prison, was under investigation this weekend, state prison officials said. Jamie Mardis, 38, was pronounced dead Friday afternoon, about 10 minutes after the deadly force incident, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Spokeswoman Krissi Khokhobashvili said in a news release Saturday.

According to Khokhobashvili, prison guards responded at about 2:20 p.m. Friday to the B Facility recreation yard, where an inmate was attacked by two other inmates who had stabbing weapons. The responding correctional officers reportedly used 40mm direct impact rounds, blast dispersion OC pepper spray grenades and fired one warning round with a Ruger Mini-14 to stop the attack, but it continued and a fourth inmate joined, the spokeswoman said.

Two additional shots fired from the Ruger Mini-14 struck Mardis and another inmate, Khokhobashvili said.

Mardis was taken to the prison's medical unit where he was pronounced dead. His next-of-kin have been notified, Khokhobashvili said.

The second inmate was transported to an outside hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound and is in critical condition, she said.

The other two inmates involved in the incident suffered minor injuries and were treated at the prison. Their names, and the name of the second inmate who was shot, are being withheld pending investigation into the incident, the spokeswoman said.

Prison officials recovered two inmate-manufactured weapons from the scene, Khokhobashvili said.

No staff members were injured in the incident, she added.

Mardis had been in California state prison custody since July 2012. He was serving an 11-year sentence for second-degree robbery by a second-striker. In June 2016, he was sentenced to an additional two years when he was convicted of possession/manufacture of a deadly weapon by a prisoner, Khokhobashvili said.

The prison's Investigative Services Unit is investigating the deadly force incident, which will be referred to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, the spokeswoman said.

The Office of the Inspector General was notified and CDCR sent a Deadly Force Investigations Team to SAC to the scene.

"A deadly force review board will conduct a full and complete review of the incident as well," Khokhobashvilisaid.

Following the incident, inmate movement and programming at SAC is limited to facilitate the investigation, she said. SAC houses some 2,100 long-term inmates, inmates requiring specialized mental health programming, and inmates with high-risk medical concerns.

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press