Jonathan Thacker, one of the men accused of murdering a Fort Smith woman, was reassigned to another prison unit this week after a scuffle with fellow inmates.
Thacker and five inmates were involved in a fight at the Varner Unit south of Pine Bluff Tuesday, according to Shea Wilson with the Arkansas Department of Corrections. One of the inmates was armed with a metal weapon that appeared to be galvanized and a little more than six inches long, Wilson says.
Thacker sustained stab wounds to his arm and side of his chest. He was taken to the hospital and later reassigned to the Cummins Unit, Wilson says.
Arkansas State Police are investigating the fight. It is unclear where the weapon came from, Wilson says.
It will be up to a prosecutor if any additional charges will be brought against the inmates involved. Wilson says they could also face disciplinary action within the prison.
Thacker, along with his brother Elvis, are suspected of murdering Briana Ault, 22, in September 2010. Her body was found by a fisherman near a pond in Pocola, Okla. Both brothers are in the Arkansas Department of Corrections system serving sentences after they pleaded guilty to unrelated rape and kidnapping charges and for attempted capital murder of a police officer.
A trial date for the Thacker brothers has not been set in LeFlore County for the capital murder charges stemming from Ault’s death.
