20 charged in Nev. prison brawl that killed 3 inmates

Prosecutors allege the suspects used deadly weapons to carry out the killings, which were linked to gang activity within Ely State Prison

March 13, 2025 04:36 PM

Nevada Prison Deaths — FILE - This photo shows Ely State Prison, the location of Nevada’s execution chamber, July 11, 2018, near Ely, Nev. A (AP Photo/John Locher, file)

By Akiya Dillon
Las Vegas Review-Journal

LAS VEGAS — Twenty people have been charged with murder in the 2024 killings of three inmates at a Nevada prison, according to the attorney general’s office.

Attorney General Aaron Ford said that on March 5 his office made its final arrest against those charged in the slayings and those charged with injuring at least five others at Ely State Prison during a fight on July 30.

The defendants have been charged with multiple counts, including three counts of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon with intent to promote or assist a criminal gang and five counts of attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon with intent to promote or assist a criminal gang, Ford’s office said in a news release.

“The pursuit of justice does not stop at the prison gates, and those responsible for the deaths of the three inmates at Ely State Prison will be held accountable,” Ford said in the release. “We remain committed to ensuring that violence and misconduct within our state correctional system are met with the full force of the law.”

Trending

Line-of-Duty Death (LODD)

Ky. corrections officer killed in crash while driving to off-site post

Sgt. George Ramirez, 36, was driving to a hospital to guard an inmate when the crash occurred, leaving behind his wife and young son

March 20, 2025 09:54 AM

Sarah Roebuck

In-Custody Death

Ill. county to pay $11M to settle lawsuit over detainee’s death after prolonged jail stay

The woman spent 85 days in DuPage County jail awaiting a mental health transfer before dying, with medical neglect cited as a contributing factor to her death

March 15, 2025 06:00 AM

Escapes

Watch: Man who escaped Puerto Rico prison in 1987 arrested in Fla. under false identity

A fingerprint match led Lee County deputies to arrest the 63-year-old, who had evaded capture for nearly four decades

March 16, 2025 06:00 AM

Zackaria Luz, 43, Anthony Williams, 41, and Connor Brown, 22, were identified as the inmates killed.

With the three inmates who died, nine inmates were hospitalized with wounds suffered in the fight, including several who were flown out of Ely to be treated, the White Pine County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.

Luz was serving seven to 18 years for racketeering. He went into the state prison system after being sentenced in Clark County on Oct. 5, 2023.

Williams had agreed to a life sentence without the possibility of parole rather than face the death penalty for his role in the death of Andrew Thurgood, a fellow inmate at High Desert State Prison, in February 2016.

Brown, 22, was serving seven to 20 years for robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, with a deadly weapon enhancement. He came to the Department of Corrections on May 13, 2021, and was sentenced out of Washoe County.

—