A former Mexican Mafia gang member, who has also acted as an FBI informant, was charged with attempted murder on Friday for the stabbing attack on Derek Chauvin, the ex-Minneapolis police officer convicted in George Floyd’s murder.
Federal prosecutors revealed 52-year-old Turscak stabbed Chauvin 22 times with an “improvised knife” in the law library at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, and that he would have killed Chauvin had prison officers not responded so rapidly.
Turscak is currently serving a 30-year sentence for crimes he committed while a member of the Mexican mafia gang.
Turscak confessed to FBI agents, indicating that he deliberately chose Black Friday for the attack as a symbolic gesture towards the Black Lives Matter movement. He also referred to the “Black Hand” symbol, which is associated with the Mexican Mafia.
🚨 BREAKING: The inmate who attacked Derek Chauvin in prison stabbed him 22 times and did it on Black Friday to symbolize the Black Lives Matter movement pic.twitter.com/89DswsEBV7
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 1, 2023
According to the DOJ, Turscak was charged with attempted murder, assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault resulting in serious bodily injury following the incident.
Turscak’s history involves both criminal activity and cooperation with law enforcement. In the late 1990s, he headed a faction of the Mexican Mafia in the Los Angeles area.
Once a high-level member of the Mexican Mafia, in 1997 Turscak became an FBI informant, assisting in an investigation that led to the indictment of over 40 alleged members and associates.
However, prosecutors terminated his role as an informant after he admitted to drug dealing, extortion, and authorizing assaults while employed by the government, as reported by Fox 5 Vegas.
Subsequently, Turscak pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to murder a rival within the prison-based gang in 2001, receiving a 30-year prison sentence, according to the LA Times.
Why would an inmate who is so close to finishing their 30 year prison sentence try to murder someone?
Don’t forget the name John Turscak.
— Todd Peterson (@toddamtrib) December 2, 2023
He’s the former FBI informant who stabbed Derek Chauvin in prison last week. He’s currently serving a 30-year sentence.
Will he get an early release for doing the bidding of Dems? pic.twitter.com/AFKWYMTtIJ
