Prison Inmate Charged for Homemade Weapon

SOMERS, CT — An inmate at Orborn Correctional Institution has been charged after he was found with a homemade weapon in prison, state police said.

Joseph Griffiths, 37, was charged with possessing a dangerous instrument in a corrections facility on Wednesday, state police said.

Corrections officials had received a tip back in March that Griffiths had a homemade weapon in his cell in the C Block section of Osborn, according to a warrant. A "shank" was found in the cell after a "shakedown," state police said.

A warrant was then applied for, state police said.

According to statements outlined in a warrant, Griffiths told authorities he was "old school" and needed the shank for "protection."

According to judicial system records, Griffiths was sentenced in 2012 to a dozen years in prison, suspended after seven, for first-degree assault.

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