Six inmates charged after man was murdered in the El Paso County Jail Annex overnight
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- ABC-7 has learned through officials channels that a person was murdered in the El Paso County Jail Annex overnight.
A spokesperson for the El Paso Sheriff's Office says that detention officers found an inmate unresponsive inside his cell on November 27, 2023. The Major Crime Unit and Texas Rangers went in to investigate and discovered the victim, 57-year-old Jesus Torres, died after he was assaulted by six inmates in the same block.
Officers charged and rebooked the six suspects. They are also working to separate inmates and place certain inmates in individual "lock-down" cells as they anticipate retaliation over this homicide.
Five of the six suspects are charged with murder. 31-year-old Manuel Alejandro Vargas, 23-year-old George Lopez, 38-year-old Jesus Adrian Rocha, 29-year-old Jovani Dionicio Ramos, and 25-year-old Christian Carrillo were all rebooked on $750,000 bonds.
The sixth suspect, 18-year-old Juan Alberto Ortiz, was charged with capital murder and rebooked on a $1,000,000 bond. Ortiz was also charged with murdering his mother in 2022. That first shooting happened in December of 2022 at 300 South Hills.
Police say Ortiz shot his 34-year-old mother, Isabel Ortiz, following an argument, then ran away.
According to police, Isabel Ortiz was taken to University Medical Hospital, where she died shortly after arriving.
Police say Juan Ortiz was taken into custody two days later attempting to cross into the U.S. at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. He was turned over to El Paso police and booked into the El Paso County Jail at the time.
This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
