A Tucson man described by a sheriff’s deputy as one of the leaders of a Cochise County jail gang has been sentenced to prison on three felonies -including coordinating a beat down of another inmate- but he will spend only 2.5 years in custody because of stipulation in his plea deal.
Thomas Kearron Saiz was able to negotiate a non-trial resolution in two cases, allowing him to plead guilty to three counts for which the individual prison terms will be served concurrently, or at the same time.
This means that despite being ordered to serve prison terms of 1 year, 1.5 years, and 2.5 years, the net effect for Saiz is only 2.5 years in custody.
Court records show Saiz was arrested in May 2022 following a failed human smuggling attempt involving a mother and three minor children. Saiz, 27, drove away from police during a traffic stop and later crashed his vehicle, sending a nine-year-old passenger to the hospital.
Saiz, who was facing up to 20 years in prison in that case, was unable to post bail to secure his pretrial release. Instead, he appears to have spent the next several months establishing himself as part of a jail gang, according to a Cochise County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) report obtained by Arizona Daily Independent.
It was Saiz’s position within that gang which CCSO Deputy Nick Lamay says allowed Saiz to order two “soldiers” to violently beat another inmate, Angel Dominguez, on March 13 for using the phone out of turn and for being disrespectful to fellow inmates.
“It is commonly known in this pod that Thomas Saiz is the ‘second in leadership’ of the pod’s social structure,” Lamay wrote in the official incident report. “There is a jail gang affiliation with this incident.”
Court records show Saiz directed Dominguez, 24, to a specific cell to receive a “hot one,” what Lamay described as slang for a beating. If Dominguez refused to go into the cell for a one-minute beating, then he faced a longer attack in front of more inmates, Lamay wrote.
The victim opted for the one-minute beating which was carried out by Orlando Castillo and Anthony Acuna Jr. as Saiz watched and laughed, according to the report. Security video later confirmed the four men walked into a cell and then exit about one minute later with Dominguez seen standing against a wall with his arms covering his head.
Dominguez, however, did not report the attack which left him with “significant bruising,” Lamay wrote. Instead, CCSO detention officers learned of it the next day after Dominguez discussed it on the phone with his mother. She in turn notified the sheriff’s office.
“Angel stated he was punched repeatedly by both Anthony and Orlando for one minute which resulted (in) him being struck in the front and back torso and on this forearms when he tried to block the punches,” Lamay wrote. “Angel was not punched in the face because it would alert detention officers that he was attacked.”
Saiz admitted his role in the Dominguez attack when he pleaded guilty May 18 to one count of aggravated assault. He also pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful flight from police and one count of criminal damage in the human smuggling case.
The other 14 felonies in the smuggling case were dismissed by the Cochise County Attorney’s Office, including six charges of endangerment with substantial risk of imminent death and three aggravated assault charges.
Saiz was sentenced in both cases July 10 by Judge Joel Larson of the Cochise County Superior Court. The plea deal stipulated that the judge had to sentence Saiz to 1 year in prison for the criminal damage and 1.5-years on the flight charge.
The deal was also required the judge to order the two terms be served concurrently, meaning Saiz will complete his sentences in that case in 1.5 years, not 2.5 years.
Larson then sentenced Saiz for the jailhouse assault to 2.5 years in prison, slightly below the aggravated maximum of 2.75 years, with term running concurrently with the human smuggling case.
Saiz will be eligible for early release from the Arizona Department of Corrections in about one year once given credit for the more than 400 days spent in the Cochise County jail awaiting the outcome of his cases.
Acuna, 19, pleaded guilty and was given a 3-year prison term for the beat down of Dominguez, while Castillo was sentenced earlier this month to one year in prison for the jail attack.