ALEXANDRIA, La. - Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a United States Penitentiary Pollock inmate was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee Drell to 350 months (29 years, 2 months) in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for killing another inmate. This sentence imposed will run consecutive to the federal sentence he is currently serving. Cortez pled guilty to the charge on March 4, 2020.
David Cortez, 36, a citizen of Mexico who is currently serving a federal sentence for drug trafficking, was sentenced on one count of second degree murder. According to information presented to the court, Cortez and another inmate stabbed a cellmate on June 18, 2014 while outside in the yard at the United States Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana, which is within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States and located in the Western District of Louisiana. The victim inmate sustained a number of stab wounds to his upper and lower back, chest, shoulders, arms, neck and head, and died as a result of the injuries. Cortez killed the victim inmate with malice aforethought.
The FBI and U.S. Bureau of Prisons conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary J. Mudrick prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
