A total of five people—four inmates and one guard—have been charged in connection with the death of a Texas inmate at the Bexar County Jail in San Antonio.
KENS5 reported that Rudy Bueno, 29; Gilbert Suarez, 38; Rodrigo Martinez III, 30; and Gabriel Benjamin Garcia, 41, have been charged with the murder of fellow inmate Francisco Bazan, 46. Last week, former Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Clemente Lopez Jr., 20, was also charged.
Bueno, the latest to receive charges, was Bazan’s cellmate. The assault appears to have been sparked by a $40 debt.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, on May 2, jailer Lopez was arrested for allowing three inmates access to another inmate’s cell, which led to the assault and ultimately the inmate’s death, according to KSAT.
Francisco Bazan was violently assaulted after a group of inmates “instructed Lopez to open the door” to Bazan’s cell, according to the arrest affidavit. When Lopez opened the cell, he told the inmates, “Don’t make it bad.” The three inmates were then seen by Lopez kicking Bazan in the face and smashing his head against the concrete.
“Lopez was observing the entire assault from outside the jail cell,” the warrant states.
Bazan was found unresponsive in his cell. Medical staff’s attempts to save him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of April 30. An autopsy revealed that Bazan died from internal bleeding due to “blunt force injury to the torso,” and his death was ruled a homicide, according to KENS5.
According to the arrest warrants, the Texas Rangers have been informed of two other possible inmates’ involvement, but no charges have been filed.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
