SAN DIEGO – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating an attack on a correctional officer at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD) as an attempted homicide.
On Sept. 9, 2026, at approximately 9:50 a.m., staff saw incarcerated person Jorge Villa attack a correctional officer on a yard. Staff immediately came to the aid of the officer, using chemical agents and physical force to stop the attack. The injured officer was transferred to an outside medical facility for treatment. An improvised weapon was discovered at the scene.
Villa has been placed in restricted housing pending an investigation by the RJD Investigative Services Unit and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. The Office of the Inspector General was notified.
Villa, 30, was most recently received from Los Angeles County on Dec. 10, 2024. He was sentenced to nine years for discharge of a firearm with gross negligence as a second striker, first-degree burglary, and corporal injury on specific persons resulting in traumatic condition.
Peer support and other support services are being offered to employees.
Jorge Villa
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: OPEC Press Office OPEC@cdcr.ca.gov