A Brown County jail inmate was transported by AirEvac helicopter and remains in an Abilene hospital’s intensive care unit after a fight with another inmate just before 10:00pm Thursday.
According to Brown County Sheriff Bobby Grubbs, 59-year-old David Ortega is in stable condition but remains in ICU.
Brown County Sheriff’s Office reports that Ortega was involved in a fight over a Harry Potter book. According to the other inmate involved, “Ortega wouldn’t give him his Harry Potter book back” and that he “didn’t intend to hurt Ortega but was merely defending himself by pushing Ortega’s face with the palm of his right hand after Ortega allegedly started cursing at him and shoved the book into the side of his face,” the report states. Ortega fell to the floor during the altercation and received injuries including a laceration of his lip, broken jaw, cracked skull and a small amount of bleeding under the skin area of the back left area of the skull, the report states.
Brown County jailers called for Guardian EMS when the incidnet occurred and planned to transport him to Brownwood Regional Medical Center for further evaluation; however, it was determined that Ortega should be taken by helicopter to an Abilene hospital, the report states.
The inmate stated that he has been incarcerated since January and has never had problems with anyone else in the pod that he and Ortega shared.
Sheriff Grubbs stated that there is an ongoing investigation into the incident.
“We are continuing an investigation, charges are pending,” said Grubbs. “At this point, it’s not certain what level the charges will be.”
