SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County Jail inmate is charged with murder after allegedly using a sock and a bandana to choke another inmate to death, according to Texas Rangers.
An arrest warrant was issued Saturday for Mark Anthony Wong, 52, following the death of Curtis Raymond Smith, 66. Smith was being held in jail on a charge of assault bodily injury-family.
Smith was found face-down and unresponsive in his cell around 11:41 a.m. Two other inmates, Wong and Jeremy Anthony Uriegas, 26, were inside the cell at the time.
As officials began questioning both of the other inmates, Wong voluntarily spoke to an officer, the affidavit says.
Wong told an officer that Smith was “shouting out obscenities” and threatened to assault him. Uriegas was lying on a bench in the cell at the time of the incident.
Out of fear, Wong said he attempted to hold down Smith on the floor and reached for the blue bandana around his neck, twisting it tight, according to the Texas Rangers.
Moments later, Wong said Smith was unresponsive and appeared dead. According to the affidavit, Wong had taken one of Uriegas’s socks and placed it in Smith’s mouth.
That’s when authorities were notified and began attempting lifesaving measures on Smith. Their efforts were unsuccessful and Smith was pronounced dead at the scene.
Wong’s murder charge was added onto his initial charges of aggravated assault/deadly weapon and assault/bodily injury, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
His bond is set at $1,000,000 in this case and he has a pre-trial hearing set for Sept. 22, according to online booking records.
San Antonio police also confirm that Wong is the same suspect involved in a shooting late Friday night at his home.
The shooting happened in the 2400 block of Wild Turkey West. Police said a man was staying at Wong’s home for a couple of days, but Wong had asked him to leave.
The man refused and an argument broke out between the two in the living room. The situation escalated when Wong reached for a shotgun and shot the man, according to police.
Authorities said the man was found lying in the grass with several gunshot wounds, one of which was on his chest. He was taken to the Brooke Army Medical Center in critical condition.
Wong is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the Friday night case. His bond in that case is set at $100,000.
This is the second murder at the Bexar County Jail since late May 2019.
