Getty Shane McMillan, not pictured, is accused of stabbing Larry Nassar, seen here during a court appearance in Michigan in 2017.
Shane McMillan is the inmate accused of stabbing convicted sex offender and disgraced former USA Olympics gymnastic team doctor Larry Nassar at a federal prison in Florida on Sunday, July 9, 2023, The Associated Press reported. Nassar survived the attack, according to the AP report and is recovering.
The 49-year-old McMillan, who court records show is serving time on convictions for drug charges along with assaults on a prison guard and another fellow inmate, is accused of stabbing Nassar multiple times, the AP reported. Federal court records reviewed by Heavy on July 12 did not show any new pending charges against McMillan and authorities have not commented about the investigation. McMillan is scheduled to be released from prison in 2046, federal Bureau of Prison records viewed by Heavy show.
Nassar was convicted in federal and state court in Michigan of sexually abusing gymnasts who were under his care, along with child pornography charges. He was sentenced in 2018 to 60 years in federal prison, on top of a sentence of 40 to 175 years in state prison, according to court records.
During his sentencing in state court, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina told Nassar, “I just signed your death warrant.”
Here’s what you need to know about Shane McMillan:
1. Shane McMillan Says Larry Nassar Made a Comment About Wanting to Watch Girls Play in the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament Before the Attack, the AP Reports
According to The Associated Press, McMillan told prison staffers that he attacked Nassar after he “made a comment about wanting to see girls playing in the Wimbledon women’s match.”
The AP reported on July 12 that “McMillan attacked Nassar in his cell Sunday with a makeshift weapon, stabbing him multiple times in the neck, chest and back before four other inmates rushed in and pulled him off of Nassar, according to the person familiar with the matter. … Correctional officers assigned to the unit at the United States Penitentiary Coleman responded to Nassar’s cell and performed what officials said were life-saving measures. He was taken to a hospital, where he remained in stable condition Wednesday with injuries including a collapsed lung.”
According to The Daily Beast, Nassar said, “I wish there was girls playing,” as they watched the tennis tournament.
Joe Rojas, the president of the union that represents the prison staffers at the facility where Nassar and McMillan are being held, told The Daily Beast that Nassar was “stabbed twice in the neck, six times in the chest, and twice in the back,” and said, “He is lucky to be alive, and the only reason he is alive, in my opinion, is because of the staff members who were there.”
2. McMillan Was Initially Sentenced to More Than 20 Years in Prison on Meth Charges in 2002
Shane McMillan was arrested on federal drug charges in Wyoming in 2002, according to court records viewed by Heavy. McMillan pleaded guilty to conspiracy with intent to distribute methamphetamine later that same year and was sentenced to 21 years and 8 months in prison, records show.
According to a 2002 article in the Gillette News Record, McMillan, then 28, worked for the Colorado-based Wolverine Trenching Company, and was part of a “massive methamphetamine distribution ring” that included several employees of the company.
McMillan was additionally sentenced to another two years and six months in federal prison in 2004 on a contempt of court charge, records show. Details of that case were sealed, according to federal court records viewed by Heavy. McMillan unsuccessfully appealed his initial conviction to the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, records show.
3. McMillan Was Convicted of Assaulting a Prison Guard in Louisiana in 2006
McMillan was accused of attacking a guard while he was being in a federal prison in Louisiana in October 2006, court records show. Federal prosecutors said McMillan was an inmate at United States Penitentiary, Pollock, at the time. The guard was investigating an assault that left another inmate injured and had determined McMillan was involved in that attack, court records show.
“Approximately 30 minutes later, Officer John Bacon along with other Pollock officers approached the defendant and another inmate in the yard to detain them. When Officer Bacon approached the defendant, he saw the defendant pass to the other inmate a belt with a padlock attached to it,” federal prosecutors wrote. “Officer Bacon was aware that the belt with the attached padlock can be used as a weapon. Officer Bacon then approached the other inmate and retrieved the belt. Moments later while Officer Bacon back was turned, the defendant struck Officer Bacon on the left side of his face. Officer Bacon fell to the ground from the force of the blow.”
Prosecutors added, “Other officers immediately forced the defendant to the ground, apprehended, and detained him. Officer Bacon sustained facial lacerations and bruising to his nose. He was treated at the Pollock infirmary and a local hospital.”
After being found guilty during a jury trial in 2008, McMillan was sentenced to a consecutive sentence of 60 months in federal prison, court records show.
4. McMillan & a Second Man Were Convicted of Trying to Fatally Stab a Fellow Inmate at the Federal Supermax Prison in Colorado in 2011
In November 2011, while McMillan was being held at the United States Penitentiary, Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, known as Supermax and ADX Florence, the highest security prison in the federal system, he and another man were accused of attacking a fellow inmate and trying to stab him to death, court records viewed by Heavy show.
McMillan was indicted in 2013 on charges of assault with intent to murder and aiding and abetting, along with two counts of possession of contraband in prison.
According to court records, McMillan pleaded guilty in 2014 and was sentenced to an additional 20 years in federal prison to be served after he completes his first two sentences. Federal inmate records show McMillan is scheduled to be released on May 18, 2046.
5. Nassar Was Attacked by a Victim’s Father in Court During His Sentencing & Was Attacked in Prison in 2018
During his sentencing in state court in Michigan in 2018, Nassar was attacked by Randall Margraves, the father of one of his victims, after Margraves read a statement to the court. Video of the hearing showed Margraves charging at Nassar before he was restrained by court security.
Margraves could be heard saying, “Let me have that son of a b****. Give me one minute with that b******.” Margraves is the father of three girls who were molested by Nassar, according to his statements in court. He told the judge, “I would ask you to as part of this sentencing to grant me five minutes in a locked room with this demon.”
In July 2018, Nassar was attacked in prison after he was released into general population. According to federal court documents, Nassar’s attorney said he was injured in the attack by a fellow inmate at a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona.