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| Former Inmate Sues Over Jailhouse Beating |
| By Albuquerque Journal |
| Published: 09/12/2003 |
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Two years ago, two former officers at the Santa Fe County jail placed a handcuffed Tony Sanchez in now-convicted killer Ivan Lara-Sanchez's cell. The officers placed the two in a cell together despite their knowledge that they were enemies, according to a lawsuit filed by Sanchez on Wednesday. 'Lara-Sanchez immediately attacked and brutally beat Tony Sanchez, inflicting serious, permanent injuries,' reads the suit. The two former officers who placed Sanchez in Lara-Sanchez's cell knew that Sanchez's jail classification form listed Lara-Sanchez as Sanchez's 'sworn enemy,' according to the suit. Attorney Mark Donatelli, who represents Sanchez, said Friday that, before the Sept. 6, 2001, beating, a rumor had already spread around the jail that Sanchez had informed on Lara-Sanchez. At the time, Lara-Sanchez was in jail awaiting trial for the strangling and beheading of Kathleen 'Kat' Lopez in her Don Diego home. Police had arrested Lara-Sanchez after getting a tip on his whereabouts from a confidential informant, according to police. Lara-Sanchez was later convicted of Lopez's murder and is serving a life sentence. The purpose of the classification form signed by Sanchez when he was admitted to the jail 'was to alert all employees that Lara-Sanchez posed a threat to Tony Sanchez and that they should be separated at all times,' reads the suit. The former jail operator, Cornell Corrections, is listed as a defendant in the suit, in addition to the two officers. Santa Fe County is also listed as a defendant. Donatelli said Sanchez was placed in Lara-Sanchez's cell after Sanchez had a disagreement with former officer Dominic Baca over where Sanchez should be placed. Baca is no longer employed at the Santa Fe County jail, according to a jail official. As a result of his beating, Sanchez suffered 'lacerations to his eye and face, injuries to his head, neck, upper back, lower back, hand and wrist, and was found to be in 'severe' pain,' the lawsuit states. Sanchez continues to suffer from the injuries, including a herniated lumbar disc, leg and back pain, vision problems and headaches, according to the suit. Cornell spokesman Paul Doucette said he does not believe an inmate would be placed into a cell with another inmate while one was in handcuffs. 'As a matter of policy, that would just never happen,' Doucette said. The Utah-based Management and Training Corp. took over operations at the privately run jail in October 2001, after Santa Fe County decided not to renew its contract with Cornell. Under Cornell, the facility experienced a series of problems, including a death by heroin overdose, a minor disturbance among inmates, and lawsuits alleging that male and female inmates were allowed to intermingle and that a jail employee sexually abused an inmate. At the time of the attack, Sanchez was in jail on a probation violation, Donatelli said. In February 2002, Lara-Sanchez attacked Sanchez in Santa Fe District Judge Stephen Pfeffer's courtroom, spitting at Sanchez before he was restrained by Santa Fe police detectives who had escorted him to court. Sanchez was in court for a sentencing on two counts of burglary, aggravated burglary and escape from jail. Donatelli said Sanchez is out of jail and has turned his life around since his conviction. |
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