Six prisoners involved in violent 2022 murder at Fremont Co. prison, only one currently charged
CAÑON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) -- 13 Investigates has obtained records that describe the violent murder of a Colorado prisoner involving six people who were serving time at the Colorado State Penitentiary, a portion of the Department of Corrections prison in Fremont County.
One man involved, Ricardo Castro, 31, is facing first-degree murder charges. However, the five other prisoners involved, are currently not facing charges, even though the violent attack took place in June, 2022. Castro has since been transferred from the State Penitentiary in Cañon City to the Fremont County Jail.
According to arresting documents, these five men, Miguel Alvarado, Drew Anderson, Enrique Arellano, Dominik Jaramillo and Jody Mobley, allegedly used crutches provided to them by Castro to violently assault another prisoner. The incident was caught on the prison's security camera video, where the men allegedly cornered another inmate in a portion of the prison before striking him "twice in the head with the crutch and attempting a third strike."
Court records say the other five offenders used Castro's crutches to beat him while "delivering multiple closed fist strikes to the victim's head and upper torso."
Records detail that, "after several more strikes with the crutch, it broke into several pieces. The crutch pieces were subsequently utilized by offenders to aid in their attempt to cause further injury to the victim."
The victim's name has been redacted from view in the court records. Additionally, the public and the media were never informed of this inmate death turned murder investigation until we obtained arresting documents tied to Castro's arrest.
The Colorado Department of Corrections would not comment on why Castro has been charged, but the other five people involved have not been charged. The reasoning they gave is that the alleged crime remains an "active investigation."
Castro was transferred from DOC custody to the Fremont County Jail last week after he was charged with murder. As for why this happened, a DOC spokesperson alluded to his release date playing a role in that. In a statement, DOC Public Information Officer Annie Skinner said:
"Mr. Castro had a mandatory release date from DOC, so he was taken directly from DOC into the Fremont County jail. He is facing charges related to alleged crimes committed while in DOC custody."
-- Annie Skinner
According to DOC records, Castro's mandatory release date from prison was May 3, 2023. That release date comes after Castro was previously convicted of six different felony crimes tied to armed robberies in Denver, Adams, and Arapahoe counties in 2013. In total, Castro was sentenced to 59 years in prison. However, Castro was likely given concurrent sentencing by a judge on all of the crimes, meaning his parole eligibility date is tied to his longest sentence, which was 12 years for one of the armed robberies.
Castro is accused of telling the victim of the violent murder "die mother****er," as he was being taken away on a gurney by medical staff. A week later, after receiving treatment for injuries at Colorado Springs hospital, the victim died from "blunt force trauma" injuries sustained in the violent assault.
Castro will appear before a Fremont County Judge on May 17. His murder case is now being prosecuted by the 11th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
