On Saturday, November 16, 2013, at 9:47 a.m. the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office was asked to send Homicide Detectives to the “Corrections Corporation of America” (CCA) in Florence. They were asked to investigate what was reportedly a fight between two prisoners which resulted in one of the men dying.
The Corrections Corporation of America is a private prison contracted by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), to house their prisoners.
The Sheriff said, “What was initially believed to be a fight between two cellmates was a deliberate murder based on the interview of suspect Roberto Fernandez (age 45) by Homicide Detectives. Fernandez told detectives that he likes it in prison and he was afraid of being released, since he had nowhere to go. Fernandez wanted to find a way to stay in jail, so while the victim was sitting on his bed, he choked him until he fell onto the ground, then stomped on his head and continued to choke the victim until he was presumed dead.”
Homicide Detectives said Fernandez told them he wanted to ensure he got “first degree” murder so after the victim was dead he bit him in the groin area.
The Sheriff stated, “As an illegal, Roberto Fernandez originally committed a sex crime in the U.S. and was sent to prison. Now, as he was approaching his release from prison and would be deported back to Mexico, he brutally murdered a U.S. citizen to ensure that he’s not deported.”
The case was proceeding to trial where Roberto Fernandez would face the charge of First Degree Murder. A Pinal County Superior Court Judge made the ruling that Roberto Fernandez was not mentally competent to stand trial. A Behavioral Health employee attempted to find a secure mental health facility that would accept him but was unsuccessful because of his immigration status, his propensity for violence and the long wait list for these premium secure beds.
The Sheriff continued, “The Judge signed an order requiring our jail to release Fernandez from custody on Tuesday, June 14th, 2016. Instead of releasing this dangerous criminal, I ordered him held until my Jail staff quickly coordinated and turned him directly over to ICE. In a sanctuary jurisdiction like most of California, this confessed murderer would have been released back into the community. Late yesterday afternoon, two ICE agents and 4 ICE tactical officers picked Roberto Fernandez up from our jail and transported him to the Nogales Port of Entry and turned him directly over to the Mexican authorities.”