Details surrounding Monday's El Paso County Jail Annex murder emerge

On Monday night, 57-year-old Jesus Torres, an inmate at the El Paso County Jail Annex, was murdered in his cell by six fellow inmates.

Those inmates were identified as 31-year-old Manuel Alejandro Vargas, 18-year-old Juan Alberto Ortiz, 23-year-old George Lopez, 38-year-old Jesus Adrian Rocha, 29-year-old Jovani Dionicio Ramos, and 25-year-old Christian Carillo.

According to a recently released affidavit, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said that around 7:53 a.m. on Monday, officers found Torres lying on his bottom bunk, wrapped in a blanket and unresponsive.

When they pulled back the blanket, Torres' head was wrapped in a blood-soaked plastic trash bag with headphones wound around his neck.

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Both the attendant officers and the medical team that responded to the cell reported no signs of life.

Surveillance footage from the cell block revealed more details in the lead-up to the incident, which occurred on Sunday evening and was ultimately ruled a homicide following an investigation by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office Major Crime Unit and Texas Rangers.

According to the EPCSO affidavit, the murder stemmed from Torres' alleged former affiliation with Barrio Azteca and personal problems with Vargas.

The assault began Sunday around 7:04 p.m. when Torres entered a cell that Ortiz was in.

About two minutes later, they were joined by Vargas, Ramos, Lopez and Rocha, with Carrillo entering shortly thereafter.

For nearly an hour, some in the group brutally assaulted Torres while others served as lookouts and blocked any available sightline into the cell.

According to the affidavit, the assault ended at 8:01 p.m. when the last of the inmates exited the cell, leaving Torres to die.

All of them were charged with murder save for Ortiz, who is being charged with capital murder.

Ortiz was initially jailed for shooting and killing his mother in December 2022 when he was 17 years old.

Warrants were obtained for the six inmates, and they have since been rebooked on the added charges.

Prior to this, the six inmates were booked on the following charges: Ortiz between Feb. 16 and 24 for murder, marijuana possession and unlawfully carrying a weapon; Vargas on Oct. 12 for aggravated assault against a public servant, evading arrest and multiple counts of smuggling persons; Carrillo on Nov. 14 for multiple counts of smuggling persons; Ramos on Nov. 8 for multiple counts of smuggling persons; Lopez on March 10, 2022, for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; and Rocha on Nov. 7 for manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance.

Meanwhile, Torres was originally booked on June 8 for possession of a controlled substance and probation violation.

Jail administrators from both the Downtown Facility and the Jail Annex are currently working on separating inmates - including placing certain inmates in individual "lock-down" cells - in anticipation of potential retaliation over this homicide.

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