Man convicted for brutal beating of elementary school custodian

A Las Cruces jury convicted Jose Eddie Sanchez, 35, for the brutal beating of the night custodian at Highland Elementary, Third Judicial District Attorney Mark D’Antonio announced Wednesday.

Sanchez was convicted on charges of Aggravated Battery with Great Bodily Harm, Robbery and Harassment. The charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.

Sanchez attacked the victim the night of September 3, 2015, while the victim was working.

The conflict began the previous day when Sanchez began texting the victim, seeking information regarding an intimate relationship between the victim and Sanchez’s ex-girlfriend.

Sanchez threatened the victim, saying “I will find you,” and “I’m going to make you tell me where you live.”

The following evening, Sanchez showed up at the victim’s workplace and attacked him while he was disposing of trash outside the school.

The victim, who suffers from a rare and serious blood platelet disorder, was attacked from behind and savagely beaten. Sanchez then took the victim’s cell phone, and removed what he believed to be a wedding band from the victim’s finger, prosecutors said.

The beating only stopped when another custodian came outside, causing Sanchez to flee. The victim’s injuries were so serious he had to be airlifted to an El Paso hospital where he spent several days in the Intensive Care Unit.