Victim of 'racially-motivated' murder at Clayton County Jail identified, family wants justice
The victim of a "racially-motivated" murder at Clayton County Jail on Nov. 19 has been identified as Carlos Zegarro-Arroyo by a law firm hired by the man's family.
According to Sheriff Levon Allen, inmate Jaquez Jackson "brutally beat his cellmate with his bare hands, viciously punching, kicking and slamming his head on the toilet, murdering him simply because of the color of his skin."
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Jackson reportedly stated several times he does not like Mexican/Hispanics and wanted to kill them.
Attorney Derek Rajavuori released the following statement on Carlos’s death:
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At the time of the incident, Sheriff Allen pointed out in a news release that the jail is overcrowded and he and the Board of Commissioners have been "working diligently to make improvements" to the jail over the past 11 months. He also stated that the $5 million for improvements that was previously approved by commissioners was not enough and said he is requesting an additional $6.5 million.
According to Allen, Clayton County Jail has 1,536 beds with two inmates in each cell. However, it is currently housing approximately 1,900 inmates with some inmates being housed on the floor or in a cell with two other inmates.
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Zegarro-Arroyo was born in Lima, Peru in 1979. He moved to the U.S. permanently in 1982, when he was three years old. He was a math whiz in school and loved baseball, swimming, and animals, according to a press release. He was very close with his family, who affectionately called him, "Charlie."
The law firm said Zegarro-Arroyo was in jail on non-violent charges.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate the death.
