A 25-year-old El Paso inmate has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder for his role in the 2023 killing of a fellow prisoner inside the El Paso County Jail Annex. Prosecutors say he acted as a lookout during the deadly attack, then helped clean the cell afterward.
In a court filing and plea entered earlier this month, George Lopez admitted he conspired with other inmates in the assault that left 57-year-old Jesus Torres dead and agreed to a 15-year sentence. The El Paso County District Attorney’s Office has said Lopez acknowledged serving as a lookout and assisting after the beating, and that prosecutors and the court finalized the deal this month, according to KFOX14.
How the annex attack unfolded
Court documents and surveillance footage described by reporters outline a prolonged and brutal assault in a shared cell at the jail annex in late November 2023. During that time, Torres was beaten, stabbed, and suffocated. The records say the assault lasted roughly an hour, and that Torres was not found on his bunk until the following morning. Investigators later listed strangulation, suffocation, and blunt-force trauma among the causes of death, according to reporting and court records cited by KVIA.
Six charged, one earlier plea deal
Altogether, six inmates were initially charged in connection with the killing. One co-defendant, Cristian Carrillo, previously took a plea, admitting he acted as a lookout and received a 10-year sentence. Charges against the remaining defendants are still pending as prosecutors continue their investigations. Court and booking records list the other suspects and their current statuses, as reported by KTSM (news republished via Yahoo).
Family lawsuit and county pushback
Torres’ family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit that accuses the jail of failing to conduct proper inmate checks, alleging Torres lay undiscovered for about 12 hours after the attack. A judge allowed the lawsuit to move forward over the county’s effort to have it dismissed. The family’s attorney has called the killing “a travesty and easily preventable” and said they intend to hold the county accountable. Earlier coverage of the family’s original suit ran in local outlets, including allegations of negligence after Torres' death at the jail annex, as per Hoodline.
Legal note
State jail regulators and an internal affairs review by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office both found problems with how inmate checks were conducted at the annex. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards followed up in January 2024 with a notice of non-compliance. That administrative action, along with the pending civil suit and ongoing criminal prosecutions, means the facility’s staffing, policies, and oversight will remain under both criminal and civil scrutiny, according to KVIA.
