The former gang leader and former FBI informant charged with stabbing former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in federal prison pleaded not guilty Friday to related charges.
John Tersucak, who is serving a 30-year sentence for crimes he committed as a member of the Mexican Mafia prison gang, is accused of attacking Chauvin with an improvised knife inside the Federal Correctional Facility in Tucson, Arizona, around 12:30 p.m. has been accused of. Friday the day after Thanksgiving.
He was charged two days after the Nov. 24 attack on Chauvin with attempted murder, assault with intent to murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault inflicting serious bodily injury, and is currently serving a sentence of more than 20 years. He is currently serving a sentence. In connection with the death of George Floyd.
Trussak, accused of stabbing Chauvin 22 times in an attack allegedly inspired by the BLM movement, pleaded not guilty in court Friday.
Derek Chauvin 'dead walking' even before Thanksgiving stabbing: former prisons minister
Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in the 2020 death of George Floyd. (Court TV via AP, Pool, File)
His jury trial is currently scheduled to begin on February 13th.
The incident came just four days after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Chauvin's appeal of his murder conviction. Separately, Mr. Chauvin made a major attempt to overturn his federal guilty plea on May 25, 2020, alleging new evidence showing he did not cause Mr. Floyd's death. ing.
In a statement released Dec. 3, Chauvin's attorney, Gregory Erickson, said, “Derek's family has confirmed that Derek's medical condition has led to him being transferred from a trauma facility at a local Tucson hospital and is being held in prison custody.” I have confirmed that he has returned to his place.” Subsequent care. ”
Erickson added that Chauvin's family is “deeply concerned about the facility's ability to protect Derek from further harm,” adding, “I hope that any changes are made to the flawed procedures that allowed Derek to be attacked in the first place.” “We are still not sure whether this is true or not,” he added.
Derek Chauvin speaks during trial and invokes the Fifth Amendment. (Court TV)
Mr. Terssak told FBI agents interviewed after the assault that his attack on Mr. Chauvin on Black Friday was part of the Black Lives movement, which gained widespread support in the wake of Mr. Floyd's death caught on camera in 2020. He said it was a symbolic link between the Matter movement and the “black hand” symbol. Prosecutors said he had ties to the Mexican mafia. After the stabbing, Terssak was transferred to a neighboring federal prison in Tucson, the Associated Press reported last month, citing inmate records.
Derek Chauvin seriously injured after being stabbed by inmate in federal prison: Report
Chauvin, 47, was sent to FCI Tucson from a maximum-security Minnesota prison in August 2022 to serve a concurrent 21-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights and a 22-1/2-year state sentence for second-degree murder. Served in prison. At the time, Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, had argued for Chauvin to be kept away from the general population and away from other inmates, anticipating that he would be a target. In Minnesota, Chauvin was kept in solitary confinement “primarily for his own protection,” Nelson wrote in a 2022 court document.
Mr. Terssac led a Mexican Mafia faction in the Los Angeles area in the late 1990s, earning him the nickname “The Stranger,” according to court records. He became his FBI informant in 1997, providing information about the gang and records of his conversations with its members and associates.
Protesters react after the guilty verdict was read in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin on April 20, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The investigation that Trussak helped lead to more than 40 indictments. But somewhere along the way, the FBI dropped Truschak as an informant because he was allegedly still dealing drugs, extorting money, and authorizing assaults. Trusczak is accused of planning an attack on rival gang members and attempting to kill the leader of his rival Mexican Mafia faction, while also targeting himself, according to court documents.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Truschak pleaded guilty in 2001 to conspiracy to extort and murder a gang rival. He said he thought he would have gotten a lighter sentence if he had cooperated with the FBI.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
