Georgian awaiting sentencing for Utah robbery accused of trying to kill inmate

HURRICANE, Utah — A Georgia man convicted a month ago of robbing a St. George restaurant is now accused of attempting to kill a fellow inmate at the Purgatory Correctional Facility.

Lazaro Ponce, 46, of Savannah, Georgia, was arrested Wednesday and charged Thursday in 5th District Court with attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony.

The assault happened inside Ponce’s cell, where police found “a copious amount of blood on the wall, floor and desk area,” according to a police booking affidavit.

The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was found unconscious by officers.

Another inmate told investigators that Ponce “had been telling everyone in the block that he was going to kill someone. The witness indicated that the suspect was telling them that for the last week. He indicated that the suspect was also telling everyone that he was going to get sent to the ‘hole’ soon,” the affidavit states.

That inmate said during the attack that he “heard someone gasping for air” in Ponce’s cell and then saw Ponce walk out. When the inmate asked where the victim was, Ponce “pointed at his cell and ran his hand across his neck,” according to the affidavit.

Police were able to later interview the victim at a hospital and he told them he had gone into Ponce’s cell to get coffee and “as soon as he entered the suspect’s cell, he stated that the suspect started to choke him. He stated that as soon as he entered the suspect placed one hand behind his neck and placed the other arm in front of his neck and started to squeeze,” the affidavit states.

In November, Ponce was convicted of robbing Durango’s Mexican Grill, on Red Cliffs Drive in St. George, with a gun. A judge ordered him to remain in jail until his sentencing in that case, which is scheduled for Jan. 3.