By Daniel J. Chacón
The Santa Fe New Mexican
CLAYTON, N.M. — A “racially motivated” fight involving close to 30 inmates at the state-run Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility in Clayton resulted in the stabbing death of a prisoner Sept. 2.
New Mexico State Police allege in a statement of probable cause video surveillance footage and witness statements implicate Max Aragon, 32, “as the individual who stabbed” 48-year-old Anibal Ortiz during the deadly melee.
Aragon, who has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the slaying, has been in the custody of the state Department of Corrections since August 2014 on a 19-year sentence for armed robbery with a deadly weapon, residential burglary and fleeing a peace officer.
Ortiz, an inmate from Hawaii being held in New Mexico through an interstate compact, was stabbed twice, once in the left tricep and a second, fatal wound to the left side of the chest, documents state.
“As Ortiz reached the bottom tier [of E-Pod], inmate Max Aragon confronted him and made two stabbing motions toward Ortiz, who immediately clutched his chest and bent at the waist in apparent pain,” documents state, adding Ortiz tried to walk back up the stairs a few minutes later but collapsed on the top tier before another inmate dragged him into a cell.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
A spokesperson for New Mexico State Police said earlier this week officers responded to the facility “in regard to an inmate death” about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 2, which the probable cause statement indicates would be about three and a half hours after the incident.
Police interviewed a dozen correctional staff and 62 inmates as part of their investigation.
“The majority of inmates refused to cooperate, and those who did provided limited information,” documents state. “Staff recovered three homemade shanks.”
In an email, Corrections Department spokesperson Brittany Roembach wrote the department was “continuing to investigate” Ortiz’s death, which occurred “following an inmate-on-inmate fight, which involving more than a dozen inmates.”
She wrote she could not comment on specifics due to the ongoing investigation, “but generally, when incidents of this nature occur within the prison setting, groups tend to stay together.”
All state prison facilities were placed on lockdown after the fight, which is standard procedure, she wrote. The Northeast New Mexico prison and the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility are still on lockdown, she wrote.
‘It’s on’
The incident started as a smaller fight in the so-called Bravo Pod.
Lt. Timothy Hernandez , who works for the corrections department, told state police he was notified of a fight in that pod during the graveyard shift. He and another officer “responded and deployed OC spray” to try to control the situation, document state.
“During this response, three inmates ... were escorted out of the pod with apparent injuries,” documents state.
“These inmates were initially unrestrained and remained in the housing unit control area, where they were able to yell toward inmates inside [another pod known as] E-Pod. The three inmates, who are African American, began telling other inmates, ‘They jumped us, the Mexicans/Burqueños jumped us, it’s on,’ ” document state.
Moments later, “a larger fight broke out inside E-Pod,” documents state.
Video surveillance showed a group of seven African American inmates gathered at what documents call the E-Pod fire door. At the same time, three inmates “who are of Mexican American or New Mexican descent” gathered on the top tier near a cell. Within a minute, both groups met near the cell door and appeared to exchange words, and a fight between Aragon and one of the African American inmates ensued.
“Immediately, a large-scale altercation erupted,” according to the probable cause statement, which describes inmates making “stabbing motions.”
The footage shows Aragon making “two stabbing motions toward Ortiz” before Ortiz collapsed and was dragged into a cell by one of the African American inmates.
Ortiz was carried out on a gurney and later pronounced dead an an area hospital.
Aragon was transferred to the restricted housing unit after the altercation. He refused to speak with agents.
Police reported observing a small laceration on Aragon’s left pointer finger, a bloody lip and blood on his underwear and shoes, as well as a large bloody handprint on his pants.
“The cause of [Ortiz’s] death was determined to be a sharp force injury to the chest,” documents state.
Ortiz claimed innocence
Ortiz, described by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin as a former New Yorker, was accused of shooting and killing another man at a baseball field in Honolulu in 2002 three days before the victim was set to be married.
“Witnesses say the two may have argued about the victim disturbing [Ortiz’s] possessions,” the newspaper reported. “Both were homeless at the time and hung out at the park bleachers at night.”
Ortiz claimed his innocence, and his public defender argued he had been set up for the murder. At his sentencing hearing, Ortiz “continues to profess his innocence,” the newspaper reported.
“He apologized to the family of [the victim] for the ‘inconvenience’ he has caused them and said he was sorry that they believed he killed their son,” one report said.
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