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| La Tuna Prison Death Prompts FBI Inquiry |
| By El Paso Times |
| Published: 08/05/2003 |
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The FBI is looking into the death of an inmate at La Tuna federal prison near Anthony, Texas, on July 27, while another inmate was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said last week. FBI agents, working with the prison's Special Investigations section, suspect that inmate Daniel Mendoza died of a heroin overdose, said special agent Art Werge, an FBI spokesman. 'We will see how that heroin was brought into that prison facility,' Werge said. The investigation is standard procedure. Mendoza and his cellmate were discovered to be 'nonresponsive' by a corrections officer making rounds shortly after 4 a.m. on July 27, prison spokesman Israel Jacquez said. The men were taken to El Paso hospitals. The name of the cellmate, who was in critical but stable condition, was not released pending notification of family. Mendoza, 23, died of cardiopulmonary arrest at Providence Memorial Hospital, according to preliminary information, Jacquez said. An autopsy and toxicology tests will be done to confirm the cause of death. Mendoza was serving a one-year sentence for a violation of supervised release stemming from an importation of marijuana charge, prison officials said. His incarceration began Feb. 20 at the 1,147-inmate, low-security federal prison. The men were allegedly members of Barrio Azteca, a prison-spawned gang known for drug trafficking inside and outside of prison, Werge said. The gang is currently the target of a civil court injunction barring members from a long list of activities in part of El Paso's Segundo Barrio. In April, federal agents arrested Rodolfo Rodriguez, a La Tuna electronics technician, on suspicion of attempting to smuggle marijuana into the prison. Agents suspected that Barrio Azteca was behind that smuggling attempt, Werge said, though he added that the link remains unproven. |
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