Charges: Oak Park Heights inmate left deep, long razor slashes on officer's face, scalp

An Oak Park Heights prison inmate slashed the face of a corrections officer, saying he wanted to make sure the officer would never forget him, according to charges.

Joshua L. Smith, 28, serving a long sentence out of Benton County for aiding and abetting murder, was charged in Washington County District Court with two counts of first-degree assault in connection with the attack about 7:30 a.m. on June 27.

Smith approached the officer and started slashing him. The officer was "bleeding profusely" from his head and neck when an ambulance took him to the hospital, the charges read.

Hospital records showed he had more than 11 inches of deep cuts to his face and cheek, cuts his lip, ear and hand, and eight cuts to the officer's scalp totaling more than 25 inches, the charges said.

The weapon was a toothless comb with a razor blade attached, according to the criminal complaint.

The inmate told investigators that he was angry at the officer and "want to permanently scar him so [he] would remember" him.

Smith was serving time for the December 2013 killing of Jamie R. Wylie of Foley, Minn. He was 19-plus years away from being released.

An earlier violent outburst at the same prison also has led to charges this week.

Dustin A. Vaughn, 34, was charged with two counts of assault for being among eight inmates who brawled with five officers on March 23 in a recreation area.

The officers were responding to a fight among inmates and directed the prisoners to line up against a gym wall, according to the charges.

One of the inmates punched an officer, and that ignited an all-out brawl that lasted for a minute until additional officers arrived to quell the disturbance.

Four of the officers suffered head injuries, while one had a broken finger.

Vaughn has been serving a life term since 2003 for first-degree murder in the beating of 31-year-old Jeffrey Barrett in Chippewa County.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482