One of Arizona’s most notorious prisoners was able to kill three fellow inmates last week because of significant security failures and missed warning signs, according to a union leader and an advocate.
Ricky Wassenaar is the “sole suspect” in the April 4, 2025 deaths at the Tucson prison complex, according to a statement from the Arizona Department of Corrections.
Wassenaar is infamous for his role in a 2004 hostage crisis that lasted two weeks.
“This guy is like a Hannibal Lector,” said Carlos Garcia, who heads the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association. “This guy means business as you see with three bodies. He means business. He should have been locked down since 2004.”
A well-known advocate for prisoners also told ABC15 that Wassenar confessed to killing his cellmate in November last year.
“This is the most unusual call I’ve gotten in 40 years of advocacy. The inmate confessed to murder,” Middle Ground Prison Reform Executive Director Donna Hamm said. “I don’t hear murder confessions. Usually, it's the opposite, they’re denying it.”
APRIL 4 ‘ALTERCATION’
Inside the Cimarron Unit of the Tucson prison, Wassenaar is accused of killing inmates Saul Alvarez, Thorne Harnage, and Donald Lashley.
Alvarez was previously convicted of murder, and Harnage and Lashley were both found guilty of child sex crimes.
Garcia said the latter pair and Wassenaar should not have been in the general population.
The union leader added that Wassenaar had repeatedly warned prison officials not to place him with a cellmate or place him around other inmates.
“They played chicken with the wrong inmate,” he said. “Now you have three dead inmates.”
According to the corrections department’s statement, “preliminary reports suggest Wassenaar acted with intent to harm (the victims).”
Garcia said that Wassenaar was on an “override”, meaning his security classification had been lowered. Online inmate records show his classification had been reduced from “maximum security” to “close custody” in December 2024.
Wassenaar has long been classified as a maximum-security risk.
In 2004, he was involved in the longest prison hostage crisis in the nation’s history.
Wassenaar and another inmate were able to get into a prison control tower and take two officers hostage.
The men also sexually assaulted one of the officers during the two-week standoff.
As part of a negotiation to release the hostages, state officials agreed to transfer Wassenaar to a prison in Wisconsin.
However, Wassenaar was eventually returned to Arizona.
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‘CONFESSION’
Hamm told ABC15 Wassenaar told her he strangled his cellmate, 81-year-old Joseph Desisto in November. State officials dispute the claim, saying the medical examiner found no injuries to the body consistent with trauma.
Hamm said she was skeptical about Wassenaar’s claim initially and suspected there may be mental health issues, but became convinced as he adamantly repeated his claims. Hamm said Wassenaar became frustrated he had not been charged in the death of Desisto.
In emails provided to ABC15, Hamm passed her concerns along to the Department of Corrections and encouraged them not to house Wassenaar in a cell with anyone else.
ABC15 took questions to the Department of Corrections Monday and received the following written response:
As ADCRR reported last week, inmate Ricky Wassenaar remains the sole suspect in the deaths of three inmates at the ASPC-Tucson. While the matter continues to be under investigation, the ADCRR provides additional information about the events leading to the deaths of inmates Saul Alvarez, ADCRR #138773; Thorne Harnage, ADCRR #372231; and Donald Lashley, ADCRR #364250.
On April 4, 2025, at approximately 7:15 AM, staff at the Cimarron Unit of ASPC-Tucson initiated an incident response due to an altercation between inmates near the dining area. The team responded quickly, and medical staff appeared onsite shortly thereafter, establishing order and beginning life-saving measures to Donald Lashley, ADCRR #364250, and Thorne Harnage, ADCRR #372231. Inmate Wassenaar was taken into custody without further incident. Later that day, he was transported to ASPC-Eyman’s maximum custody housing unit, where he remains.
During this time period, housing unit staff discovered inmate Saul Alvarez, ADCRR #138773, in his cell with injuries and began life-saving measures.
Further details about Friday’s incident are not available at this time as the investigation remains active.
ADCRR will also provide further historical background about inmate Wassenaar’s time with the ADCRR.
In June 2005, following convictions for his involvement in a significant hostage situation, inmate Wassenaar was transferred out of Arizona and moved between several other state DOCs before returning to ADCRR in May 2018, where he was housed as a maximum custody inmate.
In March 2024, inmate Wassenaar’s custody level was reduced from maximum to close custody, in accordance with policy, as he had been behaviorally compliant since his return to Arizona in 2018. During his transition to close custody, inmate Wassenaar was informed and agreed that he would receive a cellmate.
The ADCRR has no reason to believe that inmate Wassenaar had any involvement in the death of his cellmate, Joseph Desisto, 81, in early November 2024; conversely, inmate Wassenaar sought emergency medical attention for inmate Desisto. The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (ME) reported to ADCRR that the death of inmate Desisto was due to the presence of natural causes due to several underlying health conditions. Further, the ME noted that there were no injuries to the body consistent with trauma, including the method of death that inmate Wassenaar claimed to have used. Given this official information from the ME and ADCRR’s investigation indicating the absence of any information demonstrating otherwise, the ADCRR treated and classified Wassenaar according to policy.
Any claims that staffing levels at ASPC-Tucson on Friday, April 4, 2025, are to blame for the incident are untrue. Staff responded with the necessary personnel to assist with the situation quickly and properly, and took inmate Wassenaar into custody without further incident.
Director Thornell’s comment: “What happened at the Cimarron Unit last Friday was nothing short of a tragedy. Violence of any kind is not tolerated. The ADCRR team works tirelessly every day to put policies, practices and services in place to mitigate threats of violence and to provide an environment where appropriate interaction and rehabilitation are the expectation. Unfortunately, what occurred last week was a senseless act by one person who appeared to be solely focused on seeking harm to these specific individuals without any prior warning. It was a heinous act, and we will continue to investigate it and hold inmate Wassenaar accountable to the fullest extent of the law. I am proud of the quick response by the staff at ASPC-Tucson that morning. Their training kicked in immediately, quickly subduing the situation and ensuring no other inmates were seriously injured as bystanders in the immediate aftermath.”
