Prisoner stabs another inmate with shank

UTAH STATE PRISON — An inmate stabbed another inmate about a dozen times Monday with a makeshift shank, prison officials said.

During a dispute witnessed by three correctional officers, one prisoner stabbed another prisoner with some sort of shank or "sharp-edged object." Medical officials indicated it was a 3-inch makeshift knife, but Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson said he could not confirm those specifics.

The sheriff's office investigated the incident after receiving a call from the prison about 5:30 p.m., and investigators found both the victim and suspect were "extremely uncooperative."

Frankie Ortiz, 28, was stabbed twice in the chest, "mostly in the back, some in the abdomen and in his legs," medical officials reported at the scene.

Mike Haddon, Utah Department of Corrections deputy director, said Ortiz was transported to University Hospital as a precaution. Hutson said the man was in stable condition and is "not going to die." In addition to refusing to cooperate with officers, Hutson reported that Ortiz had been "fighting with hospital staff."

Hutson declined to release the name of the stabbing suspect.

"It could turn into some charges," he said. "Because correctional officers observed it happen, that will allow us to pursue it."

— Jacob Hancock and Emiley Morgan