According to a union official and an advocate, one of Arizona’s most notorious criminals was allegedly able to murder three other inmates last week due to serious security flaws and missed warning signs.
As per a statement released by the Arizona Department of Corrections, Ricky Wassenaar is the “sole suspect” in the April 4, 2025 deaths at the Tucson prison complex. Wassenaar is well known for his role in the two-week-long 2004 hostage situation.
“This guy is like a Hannibal Lector,” said Carlos Garcia, the head of Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association. “This guy means business as you see with three bodies. He means business. He should have been locked down since 2004.”
A notorious prisoner killed three fellow inmates, including two convicted pedophiles, during a prison brawl in Arizona on Friday, the state’s Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry has said.
The incident occurred at Arizona State Prison Complex Tucson.
State… pic.twitter.com/EE8rQvV7cj
— Qᴀɢɢ.ɴᴇᴡꜱ (@qaggnews) April 6, 2025
A well-known prison advocate also informed ABC15 that Wassenar admitted to killing his cellmate in November of last year. “This is the most unusual call I’ve gotten in 40 years of advocacy. The inmate confessed to murder,” Middle Ground Prison Reform Executive Director Donna Hamm said. “I don’t hear murder confessions. Usually, it’s the opposite, they’re denying it.”
Wassenaar is accused of killing convicts Saul Alvarez, Thorne Harnage, and Donald Lashley inside the Tucson prison’s Cimarron Unit. Alvarez was already convicted of murder, while Harnage and Lashley were both found guilty of child abuse crimes.
Garcia stated that the latter two and Wassenaar should not have been in the general population. The union representative also stated that Wassenaar had repeatedly warned prison officials not to place him with a cellmate or around other inmates.
“They played chicken with the wrong inmate,” he said. “Now you have three dead inmates.”
According to the corrections department’s statement, “preliminary reports suggest Wassenaar acted with intent to harm (the victims).”
Garcia stated that Wassenaar was on an “override,” which means his security classification had been reduced. According to online inmate records, his classification was changed from “maximum security” to “close custody” in December 2024. Wassenaar has long been considered a maximum-security danger.
Infamous prisoner accused of killing three inmates at Tucson facility
Authorities said Ricky Wassenaar attacked Saul Alvarez, Thorne Harnage and Donald Lashley on Friday https://t.co/8xHHzGl37j pic.twitter.com/tZDX1fjkTi
— Kimberly “Kim” Wexler MA JD (@KimWexlerMAJD) April 8, 2025
In 2004, he became involved in the country’s longest prison hostage situation. Wassenaar and another inmate gained access to a prison control tower and held two officers hostage. The men also sexually assaulted one of the officers during the two-week standoff.
As part of the negotiations to free the hostages, state officials agreed to send Wassenaar to a Wisconsin jail. Wassenaar was eventually returned to Arizona.
Ryan Thornell, Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry commented: “What happened at the Cimarron Unit last Friday was nothing short of a tragedy. Violence of any kind is not tolerated. The ADCRR team works tirelessly every day to put policies, practices and services in place to mitigate threats of violence and to provide an environment where appropriate interaction and rehabilitation are the expectation.”
