by Matthew Holloway | May 14, 2026 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller announced Monday that prosecutors have filed a Notice of Intent to seek the death penalty against inmate Ricky Wassenaar in connection with the killings of three fellow inmates.
According to a statement released by the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, Wassenaar is charged with three counts of First Degree Murder and one count of Aggravated Assault in the deaths of Donald Lashley, Thomas Harnage, and Saul Alvarez.
“The decision follows a thorough review of the facts, evidence, and applicable laws and was made in consultation and input from experienced prosecutors in the office,” Miller said in the release.
“I believe the death penalty is the appropriate sentence given the defendant’s extensive history of violence,” Miller added.
The Pinal County Attorney’s Office alleges the case meets statutory aggravating factors required under Arizona law to pursue capital punishment.
According to reporting from 12News, the charges stem from a prison attack in 2025 at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson’s Cimarron Unit.
“Child molesters,” Wassenaar told the Arizona Mirror in a phone interview from prison. “I wanted to kill them all.” He also claimed to have killed a fourth prisoner, Joseph Desisto, in 2024. However, an autopsy determined Desisto died from natural causes.
In a May 2025 interview with AZ Family, Wassenaar said he considered the murders a “favor” for society, saying, “They were child molesters. Alvarez had raped, had kidnapped. First, he came to this country illegally. Then he kidnapped and raped and murdered a 15-year-old little girl. I did society a favor by killing that f****t. The other two, Harnage and Lashley, were both sexual child predators that molested several victims. So, I did society a favor.”
Wassenaar is one of Arizona’s most widely known prison inmates due to his role in the 2004 hostage standoff at the Lewis prison complex in Buckeye. During that incident, as reported by NBC News, Wassenaar and another inmate held two correctional officers hostage for approximately 15 days before surrendering. The Arizona Daily Independent reported that Wassenaar was already serving multiple life sentences prior to the current case.
According to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, Wassenaar’s criminal history includes convictions for armed robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault, and aggravated assault connected to crimes committed before his incarceration.
The case remains an active prosecution, and prosecutors stated that no additional details would be released at this time.
Under Arizona law, a criminal charge is an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 22, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Arizona’s prisons are now under investigation by lawmakers following multiple inmate murders in a Tucson prison.
The chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, Kevin Payne, announced the investigation Monday into the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (ADCRR) over the recent murders of three inmates at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson: Saul Alvarez, Thorne Harnage, and Donald Lashley. Alvarez was serving time for first degree murder, Harnage was serving time for sexual conduct with a minor, and Lashley was serving time for sexual conduct with a minor and molestation of a child.
Payne said in a statement the murders were “inexcusable and incredibly troubling,” and expressed concern for the safety of prison staff and officers. Payne also extended prayers to the families of the murdered inmates and said ADCRR had “failed” the three men.
“I fear for the lives of the correctional officers and staff who are reporting to duty every day and risking their safety in a facility that has proven it cannot prevent dangerous criminals from inflicting violence,” said Payne. “Director Thornell has some explaining to do, and the more time that passes by before we can determine the missteps that lead to these murders, the longer our law enforcement will be in danger of losing their own lives at the hands of inmates.”
The sole suspect in the murders, Ricky Wassenaar, was one of two men behind the two-week-long prison hostage crisis in 2004 — the longest in the nation’s history. At the time, Wassenaar was serving time for armed robbery and assault. The prison hostage crisis earned Wassenaar 16 life sentences.
Wassenaar previously claimed to prison officials and advocates that he murdered his cellmate, 81-year-old Joseph Desisto, last November. ADCRR ruled the cause of Desisto’s death as “undetermined” but clarified the medical examiner’s report didn’t find traumatic injuries supportive of Wassenaar’s alleged method of murder (strangulation).
Last week, ADCRR announced two other prisoners died from potential homicides while in facilities in Buckeye and Florence, respectively.
Then, last Friday, ADCRR acknowledged the uptick of inmate on inmate violence. ADCRR attributed the violence to its close custody units, including: Eyman’s Running Unit; Lewis’s Buckley, Morey, and Rast units; Tucson’s Cimarron unit; Winslow’s Kaibab unit; and Yuma’s Dakota unit.
These close custody units house the most high-risk prisoners with “histories of institutional violence, significant behavioral problems, [and] long-standing disciplinary issues.” Those categorized as “high-risk” account for about 5,000 of the over 35,000 inmates statewide.
ADCRR rolled out a series of immediate and forthcoming protective measures for staff and inmates, such as restricted movement with indefinite closed visitation. ADCRR assured the public that affected prisoners will still maintain access to showers, phones, mail, tablets, legal visits, mental and physical health appointments, medication, and in-unit work.
ADCRR Director Ryan Thornell condemned the uptick in violence as unacceptable.
“Violence is not, and should never be an acceptable part of incarceration,” said Thornell. “We will not allow continued negative behavior to disrupt our orderly operations or jeopardize the security of our institutions.”
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