John Turscak, the 52-year-old inmate who stabbed Derek Chauvin 22 times using a makeshift knife on the day after Thanksgiving, has been charged with attempted murder. According to corrections officers at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, where Chauvin is serving out his 22.5 years sentence for the second-degree murder of George Floyd, Turscak said he would have killed the former police officer had they not intervened so quickly.
In addition to the charge of attempted murder, Turscak also faces three other counts, including assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to CNN. In a news release from the District of Arizona’s US Attorney’s Office, they add that “attempted murder and assault with intent to commit murder violations each carry maximum penalties of 20 years’ incarceration, while assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury each carry maximum penalties of 10 years’ incarceration.” According to the Los Angeles Times, Turscak was sentenced in 2001 to 30 years in prison for carrying out crimes while working as a federal informant, adding that he was "recruited as part of a 1999 case that eventually brought down charges against members of the Mexican Mafia, a gang that he admitted he had joined in 1990," according to court documents.
Per the initial complaint filed against Turscak following the stabbing, he stated that his attack of Chauvin on Black Friday was symbolic with the Black Lives Matter movement and the “Black Hand” symbol associated with the Mexican Mafia criminal organization.
