CONCORD – Christopher Gribble was out of maximum security at New Hampshire State Prison in Concord for barely three hours before he was in a fight in the prison yard and headed back to 23-hours a day in a single cell.

Gribble, who turned 24 last week, was moved from the prison’s Special Housing Unit the morning of Oct. 13. He was in a fight with another inmate around 1:30 p.m. the same day, according to prison spokesman Jeff Lyons, and sustained bruises across his face.

Gribble was treated at the prison and didn’t require hospitalization. He has been moved back to the SHU, where inmates are locked in their cells for 22 to 23 hours a day and not allowed contact with other inmates, while prison officials investigate the incident, Lyons said.

Gribble, a former Brookline resident, was convicted along with Steven Spader, now 21, of murdering Kimberly Cates, a 42-year-old mother and nurse, in her Mont Vernon home on Oct. 4, 2009, as well as attacking her then-11-year-old daughter, Jaimie.

Gribble had been moved to what the prison calls the “Close Custody Unit” after avoiding any disciplinary issues since last April.

Inmates in the Close Custody, which is a step between maximum security and general population, are allowed more freedom to move around the unit, can interact with other inmates and are allowed out of their cells more often. They also are allowed contact visits, Lyons said.

“You’re still very restricted in there, but you can move around in there and interact with other inmates,” he said.

Lyons said Gribble had been housed in SHU since March 2011 following his insanity trial at Hillsborough County Superior Court. He was disciplined in April 2012 for insubordination or disrespect to a staff member and lost his radio and some recreation time for about two weeks.

Almost every inmate eventually moves to general population if they can avoid disciplinary issues, Lyons said, because the SHU has only 100 beds and prison officials need to use them for inmates who are the biggest threats to other inmates.

Spader is still being housed in the SHU. He was last written up for a disciplinary infraction in June 2012 for destroying state property, Lyons said.

The identity of the man Gribble fought with is still under investigation, Lyons said.

Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415 or jcote@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Cote on Twitter (@Telegraph_JoeC).