DETROIT - A federal prison inmate was sentenced to 28 years in prison today for murdering a fellow inmate at the Milan Correctional Facility, in Milan, Michigan, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.
Ison was joined in the announcement by James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Jonathan Hemingway, Warden, Milan Federal Correctional Institution.
United States District Court Judge Paul D. Borman sentenced Jason Dale Kechego, 41, formerly of Detroit, Michigan, following his conviction for Second Degree Murder after a jury trial. The 28-year sentenced was imposed to run consecutively to the ten-year sentence of imprisonment he was already serving for possessing a stolen firearm.
According to court records, on Jan. 2, 2019, Kechego, along with co-defendant Adam Taylor Wright, 42, killed fellow inmate Christian Maire. Kechego and Wright repeatedly kicked and stomped Maire in the head, and Wright prevented corrections officers from intervening while Maire was allegedly being repeatedly stabbed by co-defendant Alex Albert Castro. Court records further allege, that Kechego, along with his two co-defendants, then threw Maire’s body down a flight of stairs. They then celebrated his death. Maire died from multiple stab wounds (28 total) and blunt force trauma to the head from being thrown down the stairs. Kechego and his co-defendants also assaulted and seriously injured three other Milan inmates during their rampage.
Wright pleaded guilty to second degree murder in February 2022 and was recently sentenced to 292 months for his role in the killing. Co-defendant Alex Castro, 42, is currently awaiting trial set for February 2023.
“We are committed to protecting the public, prisoners, and correctional staff from dangerous people like Jason Kechego. This lengthy additional sentence will not only keep him off the streets for decades, but also sends a message that we will hold individuals accountable for the crimes they commit both inside and outside of prison walls," said U.S. Attorney Ison.
"The safety and security of employees and inmates are undermined whenever a violent act occurs in federal prison," said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office. "The length of Mr. Kechego's sentence is a warning to anyone who commits a violent act in prison that they will be held accountable for their crimes."
This case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frances Lee Carlson and Andrew R. Picek.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
