Published: January 29, 2009 10:09 pm      

Man executed for murdering cellmate

A man who murdered his former cellmate by injecting him with a mortal dose of heroin was executed by lethal injection Thursday at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Walls Unit.

Ricardo Ortiz, who received his death sentence for the 1997 murder of Geraldo Garcia, was the fifth and final man to be executed in the state of Texas this month.

The 46-year-old Ortiz was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m. after making a very brief last statement.

“I love my family — thank you for all of your support,” Ortiz said at approximately 6:09 p.m. “Stay strong. I am at peace.”

According to information released by the Texas Attorney General’s office, Ortiz was convicted and sentenced to death for the capital murder of Garcia in 1999.

On Aug. 17, 1997, Ortiz — while confined in an El Paso County jail — was cooking heroin with two other inmates. To prevent Garcia from testifying against him, Ortiz injected him with a fatal dose of heroin.

According to the TDCJ Web site, Garcia was found dead when officers performed a count of the cellblock.

During Ortiz’s trial, two witnesses testified that the heroin overdose was forced on Garcia because Ortiz believed his victim had divulged information about Ortiz’s role in previous bank robberies.

Before Garcia’s murder, Ortiz had received several prison sentences for robbery, aggravated robbery, burglary of a vehicle and possession of a deadly weapon in a penal institution.