UTAH STATE PRISON — A man already serving a life sentence at the Utah State Prison for murder now faces an additional charge for allegedly stabbing another inmate.
Luciano Gabriel Silva, 22, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with aggravated assault by a prisoner, a second-degree felony; and having prohibited items in a secure area, a third-degree felony.
Two co-defendants, David Rios, 31, and Christopher Sulaica, 26, are also charged. Rios faces the same charges as Silva, while Sulaica was charged with obstructing justice, a third-degree felony; and transporting a weapon in a secure area, a third-degree felony.
On Nov. 13, an inmate at the prison was waiting to be assigned a cell at the Oquirrh 2 facility when Silva and Rios "aggressively charged at him and began stabbing him," according to charging documents.
The inmate received "11 puncture wounds on his arms, back and chest," the charges state. The man was taken to a local hospital.
After reviewing prison surveillance video, investigators determined that both Rios and Silva pulled weapons out of their waistbands, ran toward the new inmate and "began repeatedly stabbing" him, according to charges.
After the attack, one of the weapons was thrown under a door where Sulaica picked it up and put it in another cell, the charges state.
Silva and Rios are documented gang members, according to investigators. Court records do not give a motive for the attack.
In 2016, Silva was ordered to serve a sentence of 15 years to life in prison, with an additional year added for a weapons violation. He also received three additional terms of one to 15 years, all running concurrent with each other but consecutive to the murder charge, for obstruction of justice and possession of a weapon by a restricted person.
Silva was convicted of killing Horacio Mendez Sanchez, 25, of Logan. The killing marked the first murder in Riverdale in 30 years.