Inmates Help in Rescue of Captive Guard

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Inmates Help in Rescue of Captive Guard

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Two guards who were held hostage by four inmates at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail were rescued, one of them by other inmates, as police negotiated for more than four hours to end the standoff.

The officers, ages 25 and 70, suffered bruises and contusions in the clash with the hostage hostage-takers early Saturday morning. The officers' names were not released.

Four inmates have been charged with a variety of offenses, including attempting to escape, abduction and felonious assault.

The younger guard was treated and released at the University of Virginia Medical Center, where the older officer was being kept for observation, said Col. Ronald Matthews, jail superintendent.

Matthews said the incident began around 4 a.m. when the 70-year-old officer was in a cellblock on routine duty and was jumped. The guard fought back.

"He's a tough old bird," Matthews said.

The inmates grabbed the other officer when he entered the cellblock to check on his colleague. The four inmates kept the two officers in a cell and unsuccessfully attempted to escape by breaking out a reinforced window, Matthews said.

A supervisor who went looking for the two guards saw what was occurring and activated an alarm. Albemarle County police began negotiating with the hostage-takers, who released the older officer for medical reasons about an hour after the incident started.

One of the inmates used keys taken from the older officer to open three adjoining cellblocks housing several dozen more prisoners, but "nobody joined them," Matthews said. "They stayed put."

In fact, four to six other inmates in an adjoining cell block grabbed one of the hostage-takers and held him down. Those inmates then went to the cell and rescued the remaining captive, ending the ordeal.

"They were the ones that ended it," Matthews said of the helpful inmates. "We're going to do something for them."

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch