An inmate at the Tecumseh state prison has been charged with the murder of a fellow inmate.
26-year-old Eric Ramos is charged with killing 31-year-old Michael Galindo during a violent outburst in March at the prison.
Prosecutors accuse Ramos of setting a fire inside a housing unit at Tecumseh. The Nebraska Attorney General’s office says Galindo, imprisoned on forgery and robbery charges, died of inhalation of combustion products. He was also beaten. Tecumseh officers found Ramos’ body inside a cell near a pile of smoldering combustible materials.
About 40 inmates took over Housing Unit 2AB for more than three hours March 2nd. After restoring order, Tecumseh officials discovered two inmates dead.
No charges have been filed in connection with the death of the second inmate, 39-year-old Damon Fitzgerald. The Attorney General’s office says his death is a separate investigation.
In 2015, a Mother’s Day riot left two other inmates dead. No charges have been filed in the deaths of Donald Peacock and Shon Collins, both 46 and both imprisoned on sexual assault charges.
Johnson County prosecutors will handle the Ramos case with help from the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.