A man who allegedly attempted to escape a New Mexico Detention Center has died after sustaining “severe” injuries following two altercations, prompting an investigation, KOB 4 reported.
John Sanchez, 34, died June 16 after being removed from life support after his family revealed he had had no brain function since June 14, Sanchez’s father Benny Jaramillo told KOB 4. Sanchez had sustained multiple injuries after two altercations at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Albuquerque, CBS News reported.
A man who was hospitalized with severe injuries after what an official called “altercations and an escape attempt” at a New Mexico county jail has been taken off life support and died. https://t.co/MAilyTRZtU
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 19, 2023
Sanchez was arrested June 8 after law enforcement authorities allegedly found him behind the wheel of a stolen SUV. Prosecutors, however, dismissed the charges the following day due to “insufficient evidence,” the Albuquerque Journal reported. Sanchez was due to be released from the MDC on June 12 but was transported to the hospital instead, the outlet continued.
MDC spokeswoman Candace Hopkins claimed that Sanchez was injured following “two altercations and an escape attempt,” though revealed that three MDC officers were put on administrative leave “pending the outcome of the investigation” into the incident, the outlet reported.
While Hopkins didn’t detail the reasons the officers were put on leave, Jaramillo believes officials or inmates at the detention center beat his son to death, KOB 4 reported. “It’s been hell. It really has,” Jaramillo told the outlet. “You don’t expect your kid to get injured or die in a place where they’re supposed to be taking care of him.”
Albuquerque attorney Matt Coyte observed that while Sanchez’s death is tragic, it’s unsurprising, telling KOB 4 in a separate report that in the past two decades he has brought multiple suits against the facility. Sanchez’s death marks the fifth inmate to die at the facility in six months. (RELATED: Autopsy Confirms ‘Extreme Neglect’ Led To Inmate’s Death In Bedbug Infested Cell)
The Bernalillo Sheriff’s office is investigating the circumstances that led up to Sanchez’s death, CBS News reported.