Inmate charged with attempted murder in correctional officer beating

BUNKER HILL, Ind. (WANE) – An inmate at the Miami Correctional Facility is charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery after he beat a correctional officer unconscious.

After a month long investigation by the Indiana State Police and an internal affairs investigator with the correctional facility, they found 39-year-old Ruben Gonzalez beat a correctional officer unconscious inside a housing unit back in February.  State Police say Gonzalez struck the officer repeatedly in the head and face with a sock containing a padlock hidden inside.

The correctional officer was flown to a local Fort Wayne hospital.  The officer suffered a skull fracture, broken jaw, arterial bleeding inside his neck and lost his hearing as a result of the attack.  The officer faces several months of rehabilitation to recover from his injuries.

Gonzalez was then transferred to the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility.  He’s facing one count of attempted murder and a class B felony for aggravated battery.