Accused Tantalus shooter Adam Mau-Goffredo was arrested on assault charges Friday night after he allegedly stabbed a corrections officer in the eye with a ballpoint pen.

Mau-Goffredo, who was indicted by an O'ahu grand jury in the shooting deaths of three people in July, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center at 8:55 p.m. Friday and booked at the Honolulu Police Department's Kalihi substation.

The 32-year-old guard was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where he was treated and released. The corrections officer's retina was not punctured but he suffered bleeding and severe bruising, according to police.

Since his arrest, Mau-Goffredo has been sequestered in the mental health unit of OCCC.

Mau-Goffredo is accused of taking a taxi ride to Tantalus, fatally shooting cab driver Manh Nguyen, as well as Jason and Colleen Takamori, a Kapahulu couple taking photos of the city from the scenic lookout. He is also charged with committing a home-invasion robbery at a Round Top Drive home. Mau-Goffredo has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and had not been taking his medication regularly for about six months before the shootings, city prosecutors have said.

Louise Kim McCoy, communications director for the state Department of Public Safety, declined comment.

"This is a pending criminal case so Public Safety cannot comment," she said.

OFF, ON MEDICATION

Brook Hart, Mau-Goffredo's attorney, said his client came up behind the guard unprovoked and stabbed him.

Hart said the incident is further evidence that his client is mentally ill.

"Thankfully the guard returned to work today and was able to work all day," Hart said. "This is just another example that bizarre things happen when Adam is not taking medication. Now that he is on medication I don't think something like this will happen again."

Hart said Mau-Goffredo was medicated yesterday after being restrained.

The corrections center is the state's largest prison, with more than 1,300 inmates. The courts traditionally would transfer inmates with acute mental illnesses to the Hawai'i State Hospital's secure treatment, but because the hospital has been full, prisoners must wait at OCCC for hospital space to open.

OCCC PROBLEMS

After conducting an inspection, U.S. Justice Department officials pointed out a number of problems at the facility during a briefing with state officials last fall. The investigators suggested that inmates in the mental health ward required more supervision and better access to programs and services.

Based on that briefing, prison officials sought money from the state Legislature to hire more treatment staff and a dozen new corrections officers to provide security for stepped-up treatment programs for mentally ill inmates. OCCC has mental health services, but the DOJ inspection team made it clear the services "have to be greatly improved."

The Justice Department notified Gov. Linda Lingle in a June 2005 letter that it was investigating the mental health services provided to inmates and detainees, and the October inspection was part of that inquiry.

Prison officials estimate about a third of the inmates at the prison have varying degrees of mental health problems.

Inmates with acute mental illnesses, like Mau-Goffredo, are housed in module 4, which holds up to 35 inmates, and module 3 is set aside for "step-down inmates" who are stabilized and are preparing to rejoin the general population.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.