Fernández an undocumented inmate didn't want to be deported, so he killed a cellmate to remain in a U.S. prison.
By H. Nelson Goodson
December 1, 2013
Florence, Arizona - Roberto Venegas Fernández, 43, a Mexican national is facing a felony charged for first-degree intentional murder for the November 16, brutal homicide of his cellmate, Michael Patrick McNaughton, 55, of San Diego, CA at the Florence Correctional Center run by the Corrections Corporation of America, a private prison contracted by the U.S. Marshals Service in Arizona to hold federal prisoners. Fernández admitted to Pinal County Sheriff's Office investigators of fatally choking, stomping on the victim's head and taking a bite at McNaughton's penis to make sure he would be charged with murder.
Fernández told homicide investigators that he killed McNaughton, so he could remain in a U.S. prison instead of getting deported back to Mexico. He was about to be release from custody after serving eight years and had a fear of being deported back to Mexico.
Fernández was convicted of reentering the U.S., a sex related charge and sentenced to eight years in prison. He was deported from the U.S. on January 26, 1989.
McNaughton was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison after being convicted for having child pornography images in his home computer. McNaughton pleaded guilty to the pornography charges, according to court records.
The U.S. Marshals Service transported both Fernández and McNaughton to the private prison a day before the murder. They were awaiting transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons system.
