Attack on Minnesota Prison Guard Adds 15 Years to Man’s Sentence

Oak Park Heights, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Minnesota man who was sent to prison in 2005 for a murder conviction has added 15 years to his prison term by assaulting and seriously injuring a prison guard.

Court records show Dominique Antoine Jefferson entered a guilty plea to a charge of first-degree assault against a correction employee and was ordered to serve an additional 15 years behind bars. He is currently an inmate at the Oak Park Heights State Prison.

Court documents indicate Jefferson was serving a 35 year prison sentence for a second-degree murder conviction in a 2004 case when he attacked a correctional officer at the Oak Park Heights facility in January of last year. According to the criminal complaint, the prison employee suffered numerous facial fractures and permanently lost vision in one of her eyes as a result of the assault.

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The charges against Jefferson indicated the attack occurred after Jefferson went to another correctional officer and requested to speak with a member of the prison crisis intervention team. The correctional Sergeant who was the victim of the assault then approached Jefferson, who then indicated he did not want to speak to her and he was ordered to return to his cell.

That's when, according to the court records, Jefferson threatened the correctional officer and punched her in the eye with a closed fist before she had a chance to radio for assistance. The blow knocked the officer to the ground and she began bleeding profusely from her face.

Jefferson was also accused of threatening the other correctional officers who rushed to restrain him, bragging that he only had five years left to serve and telling them "let go of me and I'll do the same to everyone and each of y'all. I'll remember y'all when I come out."

With credit for good behavior, the now 37-year-old Jefferson will be more than 53 years old when he first becomes eligible for release in July 2040.

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