Buckeye, Arizona

The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry took roughly a month to refer a violent inmate-on-staff assault to prosecutors, submitting the case only after ABC15 notified officials it had obtained leaked video of the attack and was preparing a report.

The assault occurred July 28, 2026, inside the Morey Unit at Lewis Prison, where inmate Martin Franco allegedly sucker-punched and beat an officer for more than three minutes without backup, then took the officer's taser, pepper spray, radio, and keys, according to surveillance and body camera footage. An incident report was signed the same day, but the case was not sent to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office until August 27 — one day after ABC15 contacted the department and the day before its story aired. Officials maintain the timing was unrelated to the media inquiry, saying criminal referrals are not influenced by press coverage. Prosecutors are now reviewing the case against Franco. ABC15 notes a similar delay occurred in a 2021 case at a Tucson prison under previous leadership.