CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County Jail inmate is accused of brutally beating his cellmate with his bare hands to death on Sunday, according to Sheriff Levon Allen.
Deputies said Jaquez Jackson "punched, kicked and slammed his cellmate's head on the toilet."
He is accused of killing his cellmate because of the color of his skin, according to the sheriff's office.
"Inmate Jaquez Jackson stated several times he does not like Mexican/Hispanics and wanted to kill them," a news release from Sheriff Allen said.
Jackson is currently being charged with murder, malice murder, aggravated assault and starting a penal riot in the death of his cellmate.
Clayton County sheriff's deputies said Jackson was originally in jail on a probation violation for original charges of simple battery, simple assault, criminal trespass, battery, terroristic threats and obstruction of an officer.
The Clayton County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the man killed as Carlos Alfredo Zegarra-Arryo.
“If it's found to be a hate crime, the judge can impose an additional two years if it's a felony," Trial Attorney Tom Church said.
Church said Jackson may not be charged with a hate crime yet because of the seriousness of his other charges.
“I'm speculating here. If you're being charged with malice murder, felony murder, assault, those are extremely serious crimes that come with, in some cases, mandatory minimum sentences of 30 years plus," Church said.
According to court records, a judge set the victim's bond at $12,000 in December 2021 for theft by taking and baggage removal.
“You have these folks who have been granted a bond, but they can't necessarily afford the bond, so in that sense, it's the same as no bond," Church said.
Church said this often leads to people who are charged with minor offenses being stuck in jail for years.
“The longer you're stuck, the more likely it is for bad things to happen, and unfortunately, the real problem here is that because of the backlog, you're sitting there without a bond until your trial date, but your trial date is not for two years because of all these backlogs of cases," Church said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been requested to help with the investigation.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
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