Victim Accused in 3 Slayings : County Jail Prisoner Beaten Unconscious by Inmates

Billy Ray Waldon, accused of slaying three San Diego residents, was beaten unconscious by other inmates at the County Jail downtown last week.

Waldon, who suffered a concussion and received more than 40 stitches for cuts on his face and head, decided, on the advice of his court-appointed attorney Geraldine Russell, not to press charges against his assailants, said Detective Ron Morse of the Sheriff’s Department.

“She seemed to think that he would be labeled as an informant and would be setting himself up for further retaliation,” Morse said. Russell refused to comment on the beating.

Waldon, 34, had earlier told investigators that he had been beaten for refusing to kill a fellow inmate.

On July 14, Waldon and four other prisoners being held in 5-A, the jail’s maximum-security tanks, were temporarily removed from their cells while the area was being fumigated. The prisoners, three of whom were identified by Waldon as his attackers, were placed in a barred catwalk under the supervision of Deputy Dylan Palmer.

According to Morse, the deputy turned away briefly and, when he looked back, Waldon was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, his shattered dental plate on the floor.

“It appears that they gave him a real good shove from behind, slamming his face into the metal bar,” Morse said.

Waldon, who spent two days under observation at UC San Diego Medical Center, is now back in jail on another floor and wearing a neck brace. Morse said that Waldon is not thought to be in any immediate danger.

Waldon, who was on the FBI’s Most-Wanted List, was apprehended June 16 by San Diego police. He is being held on bail of $2 million after being charged with murder in the slayings of Dawn Ellerman, 43, and her daughter Erin, 13, on Dec. 7, and of Charles Gordon Wells, 59, on Dec. 20. A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 4.

Waldon identified his attackers and said the three had asked him to kill his cell mate. When Waldon refused, they sought revenge, Waldon told investigators.

Morse said it would be difficult to prosecute the alleged assailants since “the only witness we have won’t talk.” But the district attorney’s office will review the testimony in order to decide whether to prosecute, he said.

According to Morse, attacks on inmates are “not uncommon.”

About 75% of the victims choose not to press charges, he said, and instances of retaliation against those who do are frequent.