By KAREN ZACHARIAS of the East Oregonian
eastoregonian.com/front page/3-5-99
PENDLETON - An inmate at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution has been arrested for the attempted murder of a fellow inmate.
At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 28, Anthony Duane Powell, 22, allegedly entered a housing unit he was not assigned to and attacked inmate Ronald Lee, 33.
Powell attacked Lee for "personal reasons," said Jim Van Atta, investigating detective with Oregon State Police.
Van Atta said Powell had fashioned a weapon from a toothbrush. He noted homemade weapons are sharpened by rubbing them on concrete flooring. Powell allegedly approached Lee from behind and stabbed him in the side of the neck, Van Atta reported. When Lee put his hand up to resist, Powell then allegedly stabbed Lee in the hand.
"The doctor said if the weapon hadn't been of flexible material, the first stab wound would have likely killed him," Van Atta said.
Only when the chair in which Lee was sitting broke were guards able to intervene and prevent Powell from further injuring Lee. Stopping the incident sooner could have endangered the guards, Van Atta said.
"When there are 75 inmates and one staff in a housing unit, it isn't wise to try to break up an incident where there is weapon," he explained.
Powell already is serving a life sentence without parole on an aggravated murder conviction for the stabbing death of his mother-in-law. How Powell was able to enter a housing unit that he was not assigned to has not been determined yet.
OSP Lt. Mike McCullough said such inmate attacks are infrequent, but happen "once in a while." Weapons like the one used by Powell are typically discovered in sweeps routinely performed by the staff at EOCI, McCullough noted.
Powell has been removed from the population at EOCI and reassigned to another facility. Officials at EOCI were unavailable for comment.