Louisiana Inmate Sentenced to More than 11 Years for Voluntary Manslaughter of Cellmate

Louisiana –  On June 29, 2022, United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that a federal prisoner housed at the Federal Correctional Institution in Pollock, Louisiana (FCI-Pollock) has been sentenced for voluntary manslaughter. Jose G. Mercado-Gonzalez, 27, has been sentenced by United States District Judge David C. Joseph to spend an additional 135 months (11 years, 3 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for this offense.

Mercado-Gonzalez was an inmate at the Bureau of Prisons, FCI-Pollock, on October 16, 2021. On that date, Mercado-Gonzalez was transferred to the Special Housing Unit at FCI-Pollock, where he had an altercation with his cellmate that resulted in his death. When officers discovered the victim at the prison, he had suffered injuries that led to his death.

On March 24, 2021, a federal grand jury charged Mercado-Gonzalez, and he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on March 17, 2022. Mercado-Gonzalez was serving a federal sentence for re-entry of a removed alien at the time of this offense.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Prisons investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Seth D. Reeg.