A Texas jail guard has been accused of assisting four inmates in the murder of another prisoner over an unpaid $40 debt.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Bexar County Detention Center officer Clemente Lopez Jr., 20, facilitated the deadly assault by allowing inmates into 46-year-old Francisco Bazan’s cell. He is now facing a murder charge.
The four inmates, Rudy Bueno, Gilbert Suarez, Rodrigo Martinez III, and Gabriel Benjamin Garcia, have also been charged with first-degree murder and are being held on $500,000 bond.
According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, Bazan was discovered unresponsive in his cell on April 30, two days after the alleged premeditated attack.
The alleged incident occurred in a unit designated for inmates associated with criminal gangs.
An unnamed inmate told authorities that Martinez ordered Bazan into his cell, where he initially fought Bueno before Garcia and Suarez intervened.
Lopez allegedly laughed outside Bazan’s fatal beating and told the attackers, “Don’t make it bad.” He later admitted to opening cell doors to allow the attack, which he had done at least three times in recent months, according to authorities.
Investigators discovered drug paraphernalia near Bazan’s bunk, including a plastic bag and rolled paper alongside a Bible. His cellmate, Rudy Bueno, claimed Bazan had snorted suboxone the night before, becoming unsteady and vomiting.
Lopez, who has worked for the sheriff’s office since August 2023, was detained immediately after submitting his resignation, according to officials. He was released on a $500,000 bond on May 3, according to online court records.
“I wanted to look [Lopez] in the eye and tell him exactly how disgusted I was with the behavior, and I did so,” Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar told KSAT.
“He was apologetic, of course, but unfortunately, to me, that was very little consolation for what he put this agency through and this family that has been put through this horrible, unimaginable tragedy of losing a loved one,” according to him.
As the alleged incident continues to be investigated, more arrests are possible.
