Minnesota man with violent prison history charged in death of New Mexico inmate
Editor's note: This article contains descriptions of extreme violence and death that some readers may find distressing.
An inmate at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility was charged with murder in the December 2023 death of another inmate, Richard Cresap.
Corey Clinton Jeffery, 51, was served an arrest warrant Feb. 2 at the prison. He is charged with first-degree murder, possession of a deadly weapon or explosive by a prisoner and tampering with evidence.
Jeffery was incarcerated with Cresap at Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility in Las Cruces.
According to a criminal complaint in the case, Jeffery was seen on video surveillance entering Cresap's cell and closing the door.
Investigators with the New Mexico State Police Special Investigations Bureau said Jeffery was in the cell for at least 10 minutes, leaving and entering a second time minutes later.
Cresap was discovered dead inside his cell about 30 minutes later by a corrections officer with what investigators described as a "shank" in his right eye. The weapon was made by Jeffery, according to the criminal complaint, from a nail clipper.
The cell was covered in Cresap's blood, according to investigators ― he had been stabbed multiple times in the eyes, investigators wrote in the criminal complaint. New Mexico State Police Crime Scene Team collected bloody clothing belonging to Jeffery from a trashcan in a common area at the correctional facility, according to the criminal complaint.
The Office of the Medical Investigator in Albuquerque concluded Cresap had died from strangulation and stab wounds.
Jeffery allegedly admitted to strangling and stabbing Cresap to the New Mexico Department of Correction's Security Threat Intelligence Unit. Investigators wrote that he targeted Cresap because he was "mouthy and disrespectful," and Jeffery allegedly told investigators the attack was preceded by a feeling of frustration with a unit manager at the correctional facility. During that interview, on Dec. 5, Jeffery asked for a plea deal in exchange for information about the killing.
No further court proceedings had been scheduled in the case as of Feb. 19.
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Who is Corey Clinton Jeffery? A familiar pattern of violence
Jeffery pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2006 in Minnesota in the death of 80-year-old Paul Boever, according to Minnesota court documents.
The Echo Press, an Alexandria, Minnesota-based newspaper reported at the time that Boever was killed inside his home after being stabbed multiple times. The news outlets reported at the time that Jeffery was high on methamphetamines at the time of the crime for which he was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2014, Jeffery was incarcerated at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility in Kansas when was charged in the stabbing of a Kansas correctional officer. According to the Hutchinson News, Jeffery said he planned to kill Correction Officer Timothy Russell so that he would be moved from the Kansas corrections facility to another state.
In 2015, he pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder and was sentenced to life in prison. In that case, Jeffery stabbed Russell at least 13 times with a shank in the back and torso. Jeffery allegedly said he was high on synthetic marijuana at the time.
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The Hutchinson News reported that the attack on Russell came after Jeffery approached him with complaints and ended only when he was pepper sprayed in the face by another corrections officer responding to an emergency alarm from Russell.
Brittany Roembach, public information officer with the New Mexico Department of Corrections, said Jeffery had been housed in New Mexico since Sept. 1, 2016, following a transfer from the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Roembach said following the death of Cresap, Jeffery was transferred back into the custody of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.
Roembach said Jeffery "had not engaged in any misconduct that required referral to the behavior management program while in New Mexico," and that Cresap and Jeffery had never been in an altercation.
Both men were being housed in the facility's general population.
Roembach said Cresap had not reported feeling threatened while incarcerated by any person, and had not requested protective custody while incarcerated.
The Sun-News inquired whether the New Mexico Department of Corrections was aware of Jeffery's pattern of violence - stabbing, drug use - but did not receive a response as of the publication of this article.
Cresap was incarcerated for killing New Mexico teen in Rio Rancho
Cresap, 22, was serving a 15 year sentence in the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility for the death of Alex Jackson.
Cresap pleaded guilty April 27, 2022, and his sentencing would have been followed by two years of parole. A charge of tampering with evidence was dismissed in a plea deal, according to court documents.
Jackson, 15, was shot during a fight with Cresap, who was 18 at the time, on March 10, 2021, according to court documents, in Rio Rancho.
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In court documents, the prosecutor of Jackson's case wrote that Cresap had been in the juvenile justice system but had no criminal record as an adult.
The Sun-News did attempt to reach Cresap's family for comment but did not receive a response. The Sun-News also could not find Jackson's family for comment on this article.
Jessica Onsurez can be reached at jonsurez@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @jussGREAT.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Minnesota man with violent prison history charged in death of New Mexico inmate
