An officer is in the hospital after being stabbed several times by a teenage inmate arrested on murder charges who was found to be in possession of five shanks at the Fulton County Jail on Saturday, officials said.
The attack occurred at about 11:30 a.m. when Detention Officer Rico George asked 18-year-old Bakari Stokes-Martin to remove a blanket that was covering his upper body while he was out for free time, according to sheriff’s office spokeswoman Natalie Ammons.
“Stokes-Martin became agitated and charged Officer George with a shank (homemade weapon) that he had concealed under the blanket, stabbing him at least twice in the neck, behind his left ear,” Ammons said in a statement.
According to his warrant, another detention officer was able to grab Stokes-Martin’s arm and push him into another room to prevent the inmate from allegedly striking the officer a third time with the shank.
George was taken to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. He remained in the hospital Monday but is said to be stable, officials said.
“Thank you to the doctors and nurses at Grady Hospital as they have done a phenomenal job in caring for Officer George. He is in good spirits and hopefully going home soon,” Fulton Sheriff Patrick Labat said in a statement. “We are reminded of the dangers of this profession and I commend the brave women and men of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office who come to work every single day. We have got to create a safe environment that includes a new facility and additional manpower.”
After the attack, Ammons said deputies and other detention officers responded to the scene and detained Stokes-Martin, who was found to have the shanks on him. According to the warrant, four of them had blades or puncture areas that were longer than 3 inches.
He is charged with three counts of aggravated assault against a law enforcement officer when engaged on official duty, four counts of possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain felonies, five counts of possession of dangerous weapon or drugs by an inmate and a single count of willful obstruction of law enforcement officers by use of threats or violence, officials said.
Stokes-Martin was originally arrested Feb. 10, 2024, by Atlanta police after he allegedly shot his younger brother to death at a home in the Peoplestown neighborhood.
Officers responded at about 11 p.m. that day to the 900 block of Linam Avenue and found that Marcellius Stokes, 16, a Maynard Jackson High School student, had been fatally shot in the chest. Stokes-Martin was arrested and charged with murder.
He had his first court hearing for the new charges Monday and is being held without bond, according to Ammons. According to his warrant, Stokes-Martin also committed another aggravated assault at the jail last month. During that incident, Ammons said Stokes-Martin attacked an inmate from behind with a sharp object during feeding.
“The attack was seemingly unprovoked,” Ammons said. “The resident victim received treatment for lacerations to the head and neck.”
The Fulton Jail is on Rice Street, off Marietta Boulevard and north of Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.
The incident comes just months after the U.S. Department of Justice and Fulton County reached a legally binding consent decree after a federal investigation found the conditions in the facility “abhorrent” and “unconstitutional.”
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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