California Inmate Wounds 2 Guards With Sharpened Toothbrush

SAN LUIS OBISPO (AP) - Prison officials say an inmate at California Men's Colony attacked two guards with a toothbrush sharpened into a knife, leaving them with head and neck wounds.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement Thursday that both guards remain hospitalized a day after the attack but are expected to recover.

The statement says 39-year-old inmate William Mikeworth, who is serving a nine-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon, attacked an officer in a medium security yard, striking him repeatedly with the makeshift.

Several guards subdued Mikeworth with physical force and batons, but not before a second guard was seriously injured.

Prison Lt. Bob Furster tells the San Luis Obispo Tribune that assaults on officers are not uncommon, but investigators believe this one was intended to kill.