EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso County sheriff explained the circumstances around the death of an inmate, allegedly killed by six other inmates last week.
Jesus Torres, 57, was killed inside of his jail cell on Sunday, Nov. 26 at the El Paso County Jail Annex.
As KTSM has previously reported, five inmates are currently facing murder charges and one is facing a capital murder charge.
Juan Alberto Ortiz, 18, is facing a capital murder charge with his bond set at $1,000,000.
According to affidavits obtained by KTSM, Torres was found in his cell bed with his head wrapped in a plastic bag and headphones wrapped around his neck.
According to the affidavit, video footage that shows the six inmates allegedly assaulting Torres by kicking him, punching him multiple times and striking him with a wooden cane.
El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles said they believe that this attack was planned out in detail.
“They did everything they could to make sure it had happened,” Wiles said.
Every living quarter holds 144 inmates which are kept watch on by three guards, Wiles said. This is in compliance with regulations, he added.
The cell blocks are usually extremely loud and Wiles said, that’s why it was so hard to hear if an individual was being assaulted in the sleeping cell area, which is separate from the common area.
Wiles said they believe the inmates had planned to execute the assault while guards were doing their hourly checks.
During those checks, one guard is in the guard station monitoring the other two guards who are walking from cell to cell and checking on inmates.
Even though the common quarters are equipped with live-stream cameras that are monitored in the guard station, the separate sleeping cells only have cameras that record.
Wiles explained that the guard who is in the guard station is supposed to keep an eye on the other two guards with their naked eye while still monitoring what is going on through the cameras pointing at the common areas.
“When the checks are being done, they tend to be more focused on the officers doing the checks to make sure there’s no attacks against them,” Wiles said.
Wiles said the video footage from inside the cell that was reviewed later showed the inmates blocking the door or window view so the guards would not be able to see anything.
All this was reportedly happening while the guards were making their rounds on the other side of the block.
When the guards came to check up on Torres during another regular patrol, they found him in laying in bed covered with a blanket.
Torres appeared to be sleeping, but Wiles explained that the inmates had purposely placed him in that position to deceive the guards.
Wiles explained it is not uncommon for inmates to be sleeping during any hours of the day, even during checks, for which they are not woken up.
“But the interesting thing is, none of the other inmates hit the emergency button, that is, and they’re located throughout with the sleeping quarters and the housing unit. And all they had to do was hit that button and not even say a word,” Wiles said.
He explained that Torres was in and out of jail and was familiar with the system of how to report if he felt unsafe and wanted to be moved from this group of inmates.
The incident is also believed to be gang-related, even though EPCSO was not able to confirm whether Torres was a member of a gang. Wiles said when asked, Torres would deny it.
There are currently 11 gangs inside the El Paso County Jail and three are being closely monitored, Wiles said.
Since the incident, Wiles said they have started to turn on all the lights when conducting hourly checks, but explained that this was causing dissatisfaction with the inmates who are complaining that they are being woken up throughout the night.
Criminal investigation of this incident is currently underway, and Wiles said they will be conducting an administrative investigation after the former is concluded.
EPCSO data shows since 2021, the inmate-on-inmate assaults have nearly doubled.
In 2021, EPCSO reported 152 assaults, in 2022 the number rose to 295 and for 2023, the number is at 283 assaults by the end of October.
McCormick responds to reports of spat with Greene
Parents of young Chiefs fan wearing headdress threaten to sue Deadspin
Social Security, Medicare: Where GOP candidates stand on retirement benefits
DeSantis sets aside $1 million to sue over Florida State’s playoff snub
Groups of migrants steadily gathering at the U.S.-Mexico border
Read: Read More