Carl W. Vance, 62, attacked a corrections officer in an elevator Friday while she was transporting him. He took her gun and they scuffled for 20 minutes but no shots were fired. Vance and the guard were taken to a hospital after other jail personnel forced the elevator door open and subdued Vance.

The courthouse and elevator were built during the 1970s, when the jail typically held about 70 inmates. Now, the jail population hovers around 400, with inmates constantly going to and from court hearings, which wears on the elevator and increases the likelihood of malfunctions, said Corrections Chief Karen Daniels.

Because of the level of inmate traffic, corrections officers frequently escort inmates one-on-one from the jail to the courthouse, as was the case Friday, Daniels said.

She said that standard is not likely to change, she said.

Officials said one of the most disconcerting parts of the incident was their inability to open the elevator as the corrections officer fought for her life.

"We should be able to control it from the outside," Daniels said.

The inmate, Carl W. Vance, was handcuffed with his hands in front of his body, which is standard for inmates escorted to court hearings. The officer followed protocol, Daniels said.

Court Administrator Marti Maxwell said she is the only person who has a remote panic button to press if someone becomes violent, she said. It's linked to an electrical panel that's too old to hook up additional panic alarms for other employees.

"This is not an optimal security situation for the public, for officers or employees," she said.

But there isn't enough money to pay for the list of improvements the courthouse needs. Having a video surveillance camera in the elevator, for example, might have enabled officers to rush to the officers aid sooner, she said.

Vance, a former police officer in Eastern Washington in the late 1960s and 1970s, is accused of robbing Bayview Thriftway at gunpoint on Dec. 23, 2002. Last April, he was arrested in Moses Lake after robbing a grocery store and was convicted.

He had been arrested earlier in Olympia on a first-degree armed robbery charge, county spokesman John Tennis said Friday. Vance faces 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 years imprisonment if convicted of the Thriftway robbery.

If he is charged and convicted in the alleged assault of a corrections officer, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment under the states "three strikes" law for repeat, serious violent offenders, prosecutors said Friday.

Vance also is charged in Thurston County Superior Court with violating terms of his sex-offender registration. He moved out of a mobile home park years ago without notifying authorities and had not registered since.