PUNTA GORDA — A prison inmate faces 15 more years of incarceration for reportedly stabbing a corrections officer at Charlotte Correctional Institution in Punta Gorda.
Rene Perales, of Jacksonville Beach, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and having a weapon in a detention facility, according to court records.
Circuit Judge Shannon McFee sentenced Perales to 15 years for the battery charge to run concurrent with 15 years for the weapons charge, records show.
The stabbing happened on Aug. 11, 2020, when corrections officer Cesar Mejia was moving Perales from an indoor area to a recreation yard, according to court records.
Perales got loose from his hand restraints and pulled out a homemade knife that he had concealed on his body, records show.
Perales tried to stab another inmate, but Mejia moved to stop the stabbing.
Perales stabbed Mejia on the hand.
The officer had to be taken to a medical facility outside the prison for treatment.
The Florida Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General investigated the stabbing. In the two years since the stabbing, several defense attorneys represented Perales.