ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Antonio Chaco, a federal inmate convicted of the 2020 murder of Thomas Brown, received additional prison time for assaulting a CoreCivic detention officer while awaiting trial for that homicide.
According to court documents, on Nov. 5, 2024, Chaco, 42, made a surprise attack on the officer at the Cibola County Correctional Center, punching her in the face, attempting to throw her over a second-floor railing, and choking her after taking her to the ground. The victim suffered bruising, swelling and pain in his neck, arm and face, requiring hospital care.
At the time, Chaco was in federal custody for beating and abandoning Brown in the To’Hajiilee Desert without food, water or shelter. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, with no possibility of parole in the federal system.
For the attack on the officer, the court imposed an additional sentence of 46 months, of which 24 months will be served consecutively, adding two more years to her original sentence.
