Pinal County seeking death penalty for inmate accused of 3 murders, kidnapping

Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller has filed a Notice of Intent to seek the death penalty against Ricky Wassenaar for murdering three other inmates, according to authorities.

Wassenaar originally went to prison on a 28-year sentence for armed robbery and assault. The inmate was then involved in the longest prison hostage standoff in U.S. history, which resulted in 16 life sentences.

Then, in April 2025, Wassenaar killed three fellow inmates at Arizona State Prison Complex-Tucson, and now he could face the death penalty.

“The decision follows a thorough review of the facts, evidence and applicable laws and was made in consultation and input from experienced prosecutors in the office,” Miller said in a news release. “I believe the death penalty is the appropriate sentence given the defendant’s extensive history of violence.”

Wassenaar was the lone suspect in the three inmate murders and has openly confessed to the killings, justifying them by talking about their criminal histories.

The dead inmates, Donald Lashley, Thomas Harnage and Saul Alvarez, all had histories of assault or child sex crimes.

Alvarez and Harnage were both in prison because of sexual conduct with a minor, and Lashley was in for first-degree murder, which Wassenaar believed occurred after Lashley sexually assaulted the victim.

Wassenaar has also bragged about killing former cellmates who were in prison for similar child sex crimes.

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