Expand / Collapse search
☰

Victim of 'racially-motivated' murder at Clayton County Jail identified, family wants justice

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  November 28, 2023 7:24am EST
Clayton County
FOX 5 Atlanta
article

Carlos Zegarro-Arroyo (family photos)

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The victim of a "racially-motivated" murder at Clayton County Jail on Nov. 19 has been identified as Carlos Zegarro-Arroyo by a law firm hired by the man's family.

According to Sheriff Levon Allen, inmate Jaquez Jackson "brutally beat his cellmate with his bare hands, viciously punching, kicking and slamming his head on the toilet, murdering him simply because of the color of his skin."

ORIGINAL STORY: 'Racially-motivated' murder investigation underway at Clayton County Jail, sheriff says

Jackson reportedly stated several times he does not like Mexican/Hispanics and wanted to kill them.

Attorney Derek Rajavuori released the following statement on Carlos’s death:

"Carlos’s family and friends are devastated. His murder was yet another preventable result of the ongoing humanitarian crisis at the Clayton County Jail. We join Senator Jon Ossoff in calling for a full investigation of this facility.

We also intend to seek justice for Carlos and his family. The legal system failed them on multiple fronts. Like many of the people detained in Georgia’s jail system, Carlos was awaiting trial on non-violent charges at the time of his death. Because he was unable to pay his $12,000 bond, he was forced to sit in pretrial detention for nearly two years. He had not been convicted of a crime and was entitled to the presumption of innocence, a fundamental human right enshrined in both the United States and Georgia Constitutions.  

The United States Constitution also imposes a duty upon jails and penal institutions to protect those in their custody from threats to their lives and safety, including violence from other detainees. Tragically, the system failed Carlos in this regard. Instead of receiving his day in court, he was murdered by his cellmate while in the custody of the Clayton County Jail. 

We will work to uncover the full truth about Carlos’s death and ensure that those involved are held accountable. In the meantime, his loved ones respectfully ask for privacy as they learn to cope with the loss of their beloved son, grandson, cousin, and friend."

RELATED: Ossoff calls for federal probe of Clayton County Jail

At the time of the incident, Sheriff Allen pointed out in a news release that the jail is overcrowded and he and the Board of Commissioners have been "working diligently to make improvements" to the jail over the past 11 months. He also stated that the $5 million for improvements that was previously approved by commissioners was not enough and said he is requesting an additional $6.5 million.

According to Allen, Clayton County Jail has 1,536 beds with two inmates in each cell. However, it is currently housing approximately 1,900 inmates with some inmates being housed on the floor or in a cell with two other inmates.

OTHER RECENT STORIES

Zegarro-Arroyo was born in Lima, Peru in 1979. He moved to the U.S. permanently in 1982, when he was three years old. He was a math whiz in school and loved baseball, swimming, and animals, according to a press release. He was very close with his family, who affectionately called him, "Charlie."

The law firm said Zegarro-Arroyo was in jail on non-violent charges.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called in to investigate the death.