Fresno jury finds jail killer sane in murder of cellmate

A man diagnosed with schizophrenia was sane when he murdered his cellmate, Troy Phillips, who was found lying in a pool of his own blood inside his locked cell at the Fresno County Jail in February 2012, a Superior Court jury ruled Tuesday.

Jose “Jesse” Guadalupe Cuevas showed no reaction when the verdict was announced in Judge Timothy Kams’s courtroom.

He exhibited the same demeanor when he was found guilty last week of first-degree murder.

Cuevas, 30, now faces 50 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on May 10.

The killing of Phillips sparked The Bee’s 2013 special report called “Locked In Terror,” which investigated Fresno County’s treatment of jail inmates with mental illness and how medications were improperly administered. Phillips’ death also prompted his family to sue Fresno County for wrongful death in U.S. District Court, a case that remains active.

While sheriff’s officials say there was no way to prevent Phillips’ slaying, the federal lawsuit contends Fresno County jail officials knew Cuevas was psychotic, yet left him untreated.

A month after the killing, Cuevas was declared legally incompetent to stand trial. A judge ordered him to be confined at Atascadero State Hospital until his sanity was restored with medication and he could understand the charges brought against him. After taking antipsychotic medication for several years, Cuevas was deemed ready to answer to the murder charge.

In the trial, prosecutor William Lacy and defense attorney Antonio Alvarez agreed that Cuevas killed Phillips by stabbing him with a small pencil in the neck and head more than a dozen times on Feb. 14, 2012. They also agreed that court-appointed doctors said Cuevas suffers from schizophrenia.

What was in dispute was whether he understood what he did was legally and morally wrong. If found insane, Cuevas would have done his punishment in a secured state hospital.

Cuevas and Phillips were cellmates for less than a month on the fifth floor of the main jail. Sheriff’s officials have said that Cuevas and Phillips were housed together because they were accused of committing similar theft-related crimes.

Alvarez argued that Cuevas was in the midst of a psychotic breakdown and legally insane when he killed Phillips. And psychiatrists Dr. Howard Terrell and Dr. Luis Velosa testified that Cuevas was legally insane when he killed Phillips.

But Lacy told the jury that schizophrenia isn’t a defense for murder and most people with schizophrenia aren’t dangerous. He pointed out that Terrell and Velosa examined Cuevas two years after the killing and came to their conclusion after spending about an hour with him. He said doctors aren’t “mind-readers” and “it’s not difficult for inmates to fool doctors.”

In addition, Lacy pointed out that Cuevas was prescribed the anti-psychotic medication Abilify six weeks before Phillips was killed. Lacy also said Cuevas was examined two weeks after the killing and medical records show the Abilify was working because Cuevas didn’t report having hallucinations or delusions.

And when Cuevas killed Phillips, he informed jail staff through the intercom system, and told them he had stabbed Phillips in the neck, just as the evidence indicated, Lacy said. Cuevas understood the correctional officers’ orders to lie on the floor so he could be handcuffed, Lacy said. He also didn’t attack the officers, he said.

Most important, Cuevas never said he heard voices or thought Phillips was a demon, Lacy said. He also told detectives that he should be punished for killing Phillips, the prosecutor said.

Cuevas could have sealed his own fate. Lacy said Cuevas killed Phillips because he wanted his own cell.

On the witness stand Monday, he testified that he argued with Phillips over a light being on in their cell. Phillips wanted Cuevas to turn off the light and go to bed; Cuevas testified he wanted to stay up. The argument led to a bloody confrontation.

Under questioning by Lacy, Cuevas said, “I knew it was kinda wrong. I shouldn’t stab no one like that, that many times.”

But Cuevas also testified he was hearing voices at the time. He said he had “no clue” why he did it.

Cuevas said the medication he is receiving has made him realize his actions were wrong. But he also said at the time of the killing, “I kinda knew what I was doing. I didn’t have the right sense.”

Asked by Alvarez if he wanted to go to prison or the hospital, Cuevas told the jury that he didn’t have a preference, saying he wanted to go to the place with the best hospitality.

He then ended this testimony by saying, “I’m really insane.”

The jury of eight women and four men apparently didn’t believe him, deliberating only two hours Tuesday before finding him sane at the time of the killing.

Though Cuevas was prescribed Abilify, Alvarez said outside court that there was no solid evidence that he took the medication in jail. Noting Cuevas’ lack of emotion when the verdict was announced, Alvarez said: “I respectfully disagree with the jury. I think Cuevas is insane.”

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 5:19 PM with the headline "Fresno jury finds jail killer sane in murder of cellmate."