A Bexar County Jail deputy stood by while six inmates brutally beat another in a shower and then waited 30 minutes for the assailants to clean up while the victim laid bleeding before he called for help, authorities said in announcing that the deputy had been charged and fired from his job.
Jean Camacho-Morales, 33, was arrested on Tuesday, which was a day after the attack, the San Antonio Express-News reported. He faces counts of official oppression, tampering with government records and aggravated assault with substantial bodily harm -- the last count because Texas law requires all parties involved in a crime to be charged with the offense. His bail was set at $25,000.
"Though he didn't lift a finger in assault, he also didn't lift a finger to help or do his job," Sheriff Javier Salazar said in announcing the charges.
Camacho-Morales said he immediately called for assistance when he found the 44-year-old victim brutally beaten in the shower, but surveillance footage showed otherwise, Salazar said. Camacho-Morales had prior knowledge of the attack and stood by as the victim was beaten by at least six other inmates. He then left the man "to lay in a pool of his own blood for 30 minutes while the other inmates had time to clean up and destroy evidence," the sheriff said.
Camacho-Morales allegedly turned off the lights in the shower unit in an attempt to conceal the crime from the jail's cameras, Salazar said.
The victim was rushed to the hospital, unable to breathe on his own. He had several facial fractures and damaged vertebrae.
The sheriff's office's public integrity unit, internal affairs department and the FBI are investigating the attack. There is no indication that it was gang-related or how Camacho-Morales was connected to the inmates involved, Salazar said.
Texas News
News from around the state of Texas.
One inmate, Justin Rodriguez, has been charged in the beating. He was already facing murder and other charges.
