A man jailed on murder charges now faces additional, formal charges after authorities say he badly beat his sleeping cellmate.
On June 26, the State Attorney’s Office filed the charges against Yanko Romero, 41, of Fort Myers for a June 10 incident where authorities say he attacked Brandt Diaz, 39, of Fort Myers, about 3:45 a.m.
Diaz faces months of medical treatment and may lose an eye in the Lee County Jail incident.
Romero is charged with one count of aggravated battery by person detained upon other detainee, a first-degree felony, and one count of resisting/obstructing an officer without violence, a misdemeanor.
Fort Myers Police arrested Romero on June 8 in the random shooting death of Alex Johnson, 25, of North Fort Myers, as he and his girlfriend attempted to launch their boat on the Caloosahatchee River in Fort Myers.
He remains in Lee County Jail with no bond.
Romero also is a person of interest in an Inkster, Michigan, murder, police there said.
Diaz’ mother, Estelle Diaz, said her son suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured skull, bite marks on his nose, a broken cheekbone, his Adam’s apple dislocated, a fractured jaw that will require multiple surgeries and he may lose his right eye.
Diaz was jailed on nonviolent charges and is now out on bond.
On June 25, State Attorney Amira Fox announced first-degree murder charges against Romero in the shooting death of Johnson. A Lee County grand jury convened this week to indict him on the capital murder charge.
He faces seven charges, including first-degree murder in Johnson’s death, attempted first-degree murder in the assault on Johnson’s girlfriend, and aggravated assault, tampering with evidence and firing a gun into a building, Fox said.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Richard Montecalvo and Assistant State Attorney Sara Miller, of the Homicide Unit, are prosecuting the case.
Stacey Henson is the breaking news and visuals editor for The Fort Myers News-Press and Naples Daily News. You may reach her at shenson@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Man accused in murder faces formal charges in beating of cellmate
Reporting by Stacey Henson, Fort Myers News-Press / Fort Myers News-Press
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