KUNA — A prison inmate with local ties and a history of violence attacked a correctional officer at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution on Saturday, sending the officer to the hospital.
Robert David Pompa, 30, formerly of Pocatello, “brutally assaulted” the 56-year-old corporal at the facility that houses Idaho’s most dangerous male inmates, sending them to Saint Alphonsus Medical Center, according to an Idaho Department of Correction news release.
The incident occurred outside of Pompa’s cell and he was the only inmate involved, the Idaho Department of Correction told the Idaho State Journal in a Monday email.
The staff member who was assaulted remained hospitalized as of Monday evening but is showing signs of improvement, IDOC said, adding that preliminary reports indicate a possible discharge as early as Tuesday.
IMSI staff secured the crime scene with assistance from officers from the Idaho State Correctional Institution and the Idaho State Correctional Center. Idaho State Police are investigating the incident.
Pompa is serving a sentence of at least 25 years to life after being convicted of second-degree homicide in 2022 for the murder of Eddie Stacey, 62, a fellow inmate at the Madison County Jail. Pompa pleaded guilty after attacking Stacey in October 2021 over the use of an electronic tablet.
Surveillance video showed Pompa struck Stacey 16 times in less than five minutes, knocking him to the floor, the Rexburg Standard Journal reported in 2022. Stacey, who was serving a 90-day sentence for DUI, did not provoke the attack and had no time to defend himself, prosecutors said.
Days after killing Stacey, Pompa attacked a Madison County correctional officer, breaking the officer’s nose and sending him to the hospital, according to the Standard Journal. He pleaded guilty to felony assault on a correction officer and received an additional two-year sentence.
The Post Register reported in December 2021 that Pompa had also been charged with aggravated battery in 2020 for attacking two inmates at the Bannock County Jail. Surveillance footage captured Pompa punching and kicking both victims repeatedly, causing bloody injuries.
Pompa’s current sentence also includes convictions out of Bannock County for burglary, aggravated battery and unlawful discharge of a weapon, IDOC records show.
Pompa was eligible for parole in 2046 prior to Saturday’s incident, according to IDOC records.