7 men charged in San Miguel County jail inmate homicide

LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Seven San Miguel County Detention Center inmates were charged Monday with the homicide of a fellow inmate.

Eric Vigil, 40, was pronounced dead at Alta Vista Regional Hospital after he was assaulted Nov. 1 in a jail cell.

According to the criminal complaint, an inmate initially reported Vigil fell and was seriously injured in the cell. After reviewing the surveillance video, officers instead found eight people and Vigil entered the cell and a fight broke out. After a minute of fighting, everyone exited the cell while Vigil was lying on the floor.

The following inmates were charged with an open count of first-degree murder, second-degree conspiracy to first-degree murder and third-degree tampering with evidence:

• Conrad Atencio, 25
• Pierre Lovato, 44
• Dathian Lucero, 24
• Daniel Magallanes, 22
• Devin Morales, 21
• Nathan Pacheco, 25
• Joaquin Richardson, 19