BUCKEYE, AZ — A prison librarian was reportedly taken hostage by an inmate during a several-hour incident at the Arizona State Prison Complex - Lewis Wednesday morning.
Officials with the Arizona Department of Corrections say Timothy Monk, a maximum-custody inmate of the Rast Unit, took a male library employee hostage in the law library around 8:15 a.m.
Monk used a prison-made blade-type weapon during the ordeal and tried to use the employee as part of a demand to leave the prison, officials say.
Tactical support teams helped negotiate with Monk while using “as little force as necessary” to resolve the incident. A diversionary device was deployed into the library and less-than-lethal force was used on the inmate around 10:30 a.m. At that time, officials were able to safely get to the employee and take Monk into custody.
No injuries were reported during the situation.
DOC officials say Monk is currently serving 97 years in prison. He came to Arizona Department of Corrections after being sentenced in Maricopa County in 1988 for armed robbery, sex assault and kidnapping. In 2006, he was convicted of aggravated assault, kidnapping, promoting prison contraband and sex assault while incarcerated in Tucson.
Monk will reportedly face new charges for the criminal activity at the Lewis prison on Wednesday.
