Man convicted in 1995 Sacramento homicide is stabbed to death at San Diego County prison
A man convicted in a 1995 fatal shooting in Sacramento County was attacked by three fellow inmates and stabbed to death at a California prison in San Diego County, officials announced this week.
John Robert Thurs, who was serving a prison sentence for hunting down and shooting a man who he believed slashed his tires, was fatally stabbed May 7 at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Tuesday in a news release.
Prison officials said Thurs, 56, was attacked by three inmates about 7:15 p.m. in a prison recreation yard and stabbed. Investigators recovered a makeshift weapon at the scene.
Thurs was taken to an outside hospital, where he died from his injuries shortly after 9 p.m. Prison officials confirmed Tuesday that Thurs’ family had been properly notified.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating Thurs’ death as a homicide. The Office of the Inspector General was notified of the inmate’s death.
Investigators at the prison facility have identified three inmates as suspects in the fatal stabbing: Aaron M. Sims, Leslie A. Bond Jr. and Andrew T. Hofer.
Sims, 37, is serving a six-year prison sentence for a Kings County conviction of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury and possessing paraphernalia, drugs or alcohol in jail or prison, according to a news release. His conviction was considered a second strike under the state’s “Three Strikes” law.
Bond, 36, is serving a life sentence with a chance of parole for a Butte County conviction of second-degree murder and drug possession.
Prison officials said Hofer, 24, is serving a seven-year prison sentence for a San Diego County conviction of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence causing bodily injury or death.
In September 1995, Thurs was sentenced in Sacramento Superior Court to serve a sentence of life in prison with a chance for parole. A jury in July 1995 found Thurs guilty of involuntary manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a gun, according to the news release.
Thurs was convicted for committing the Jan. 25, 1995, slaying of Eric Grimble. The 23-year-old man, who had a history of psychiatric problems and vandalism, was dressed in all black clothing when he was fatally shot at 3 a.m. near bushes in the South Land Park Hills neighborhood where both men lived, according to a Sept. 16, 1995, news story in The Sacramento Bee.
Thurs said he shot Grimble with a hunting rifle in self defense. He claimed Grimble lunged at him with a kitchen knife that had been used to puncture Thurs’ car tires earlier that night.
Prison officials said Thurs’ conviction was considered a third strike and it included an enhancement for having a prior felony conviction of a serious offense.
