Investigation Launched After Inmate Killed in Las Vegas Area Prison High Desert State Prison Faces Scrutiny Over Safety Concerns

An inmate at High Desert State Prison, Hawk Urban, 27, was fatally stabbed last week, prompting a murder investigation. According to

8 News Now

, Urban died from multiple stab wounds on Thursday, and his cellmate has been named as the suspect by the Nevada Department of Corrections.

Urban, who began to serve a sentence in 2022 for battery by a prisoner, was not slated for potential parole until 2025. During his time in custody, he had been transferred from Ely State Prison to High Desert State Prison, which is a roughly 45-minute drive from Las Vegas. This same facility recently upgraded to maximum security status and began to house an increased number of inmates with known violent histories. Paul Lunkwitz, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Nevada C.O. Lodge 21, told

KTNV

, “This is just yet another incident in the cycle that’s going on right now at High Desert.”

Concerns have been raised about how the prison handles such individuals. Lunkwitz said in a statement obtained by

KTNV

, “It’s not rocket science when we were telling them we’re not ready. The officers aren’t ready. The facility is not ready,” and noted that officers have been reporting more frequent assaults and dangerous behaviors among inmates. Without enough resources, the staff at HDSP may struggle to properly monitor these volatile environments, making incidents like this more likely.

The victim’s mother, Selma Belle, expressed her grief in an interview with the

Las Vegas Review-Journal

, stating, “This should’ve never happened. They never should’ve been cellmates.” She was frustrated with the prison system’s oversight in preventing such an incident, especially since the deceased inmate and his cellmate, whom she claimed to be related to Urban, had a history of enmity.

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