Timeline: The Murder Of Cook County Jail Inmate Pedro Ruiz

CHICAGO (CBS) — Pedro Ruiz, 19, was found unresponsive in his cell in the Cook County Jail early Saturday morning. He was pronounced dead soon after. 24-year-old Christian Gonzalez was charged with first-degree murder. As the investigation into Ruiz's death continues, CBS 2 has learned more about the events that lead to Ruiz's death.

 

May 31, 2019: Christian Gonzalez is arrested on attempted murder charges

Then-23-year-old Christian Gonzalez is arrested for an incident in 2017 in which police allege he used an assault-style rifle to shoot and wound a man. He is booked into the Cook County Jail shortly after on June 2, 2019.

A month later, he is indicted on six counts of attempted murder.

Christian Gonzalez (Source: Cook County Sheriff)

November 19, 2019: Gonzalez participates in an attack on an inmate inside the jail

Surveillance video inside the jail shows Gonzalez was one of five inmates who attacked another inmate inside a dayroom — an area where inmates can congregate and move more freely than in their cells. Gonzalez is seen repeatedly kicking the man — who was hospitalized with puncture wounds from a makeshift knife used in the attack — while he was on the ground.

(Credit: CBS)

Gonzalez and the four other inmates accused in the attack were charged with attempted murder shortly after the incident.

January 29, 2020: Pedro Ruiz is arrested on an attempted murder charge

19-year-old Pedro Ruiz is arrested in Chicago's Back Of The Yards neighborhood after police officers on patrol said he matched the description of a suspect in a recent shooting which left a man with multiple gunshot wounds. He is placed in a cell with Gonzalez shortly after being booked into the Cook County Jail.

 

February 1, 2020: Ruiz is found dead in his cell

12:24 A.M. A Cook County Jail Correctional Officer begins a 30-minute security check.

12:27 A.M. Jail staff report Ruiz is secured in his cell.

12:54 A.M. - 1:28 A.M. Jail Correctional Officers conduct two more security checks. During one of those checks, Gonzalez says to one of the officers "Something is wrong with my cellmate [Ruiz]." The officer initially reports seeing Gonzalez propped against a wall with no visible injuries.

1:53 A.M. Three higher-ranking jail officers arrive on the scene and see Gonzalez laying on the floor of the cell near the door, covered in blood.

1:54 A.M. Gonzalez exits the cell willingly and is handcuffed without resistance.

1:55 A.M. One of the higher-ranking officers calls over the radio to activate 911. Paramedics from the jail's hospital are called.

1:56 A.M. Gonzalez is secured in a holding cell.

2:02 A.M. A jail officer notifies the Jail's superintendent of the incident by phone.

2:05 A.M. An ambulance from the Chicago Fire Department arrives.

2:13 A.M. Jail paramedics arrive.

2:18 A.M. Officials exit the area where the attack occurred, known as a "tier." The tier is then secured as a crime scene.

2:22 A.M. A correctional officer retrieves a T-shirt, covered in blood, from Gonzalez. It is placed into an evidence bag and given to a Sheriff's Police officer. Ruiz is taken out of the jail and placed in an ambulance.

2:25 A.M. The ambulance leaves the jail en route to Mt. Sinai Hospital.

2:56 A.M. Ruiz is pronounced dead.

 

 

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