Bike Path Rapist-Sanchez Locked-Up In Elmira Prison

[samanthajane13]

Posted by: Josh Boose, Reporter

Created: 9/5/2007 7:10:07 PM
Updated: 9/6/2007 11:24:30 PM


Altemio Sanchez was sentenced to life in prison last month, now, Sanchez is sitting in a maximum security prison in Elmira.

According to the New York State Department of Corrections, Sanchez is only there for what's called a "reception". It's a series of screenings and evaluations before being sent to his future, permanent home.

The man known as the Bike Path Rapist has been behind bars since January, the morning of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Through the Freedom of Information Act, 2 On Your Side obtained visitor logs from the Erie County Holding Center. They show who went to see him from January through May. His wife, Kathy visited dozens of times. His two grown sons also visited. So did a daughter-in-law, his sister, a priest, friends and his attorney.

In order to get a glimpse of his life behind bars we obtained the menus at the holding center. On May 18th for instance, Sanchez started the day with "apple rings and orange juice" for breakfast. That night the menu shows it was "meatballs and seasoned rice" for dinner.

The New York State Department of Corrections says Sanchez’ stay in Elmira is about over. He'll soon be placed in one of the sixteen maximum security men's prisons in the state.

And he'll be busy behind bars; the state has a mandatory work program. The corrections department says Sanchez will work in the morning and afternoon, five days a week. He'll earn the same as every other inmate; $1.05 a day.

The Bike Path Rapist remains in the hands of the state and that's where he'll stay; locked-up for the rest of his life.

[samanthajane13]

Inmate Targets Bike Path Killer
Posted by: Ron Plants, Reporter

Created: 9/12/2007 5:47:39 PM
Updated: 9/12/2007 6:24:27 PM

Erie County Undersheriff Brian Doyle says Altemio
Sanchez was attacked by another inmate last summer while he was being held at the Erie County Holding Center before his sentencing.

Doyle says Sanchez was being held in a constant observation cell last June where a deputy can always watch him through a window. Doyle says another inmate identified as 38 year old William Harris III of Tonawanda was placed in the cell with Sanchez and asked Sanchez his name. Doyle says that when Sanchez gave his name, Harris was seen punching Sanchez in the head. According to Doyle: "The inmate who assaulted Mr. Sanchez stated that he was a rapist so our belief is yes..
he knew who he was."

Doyle says deputies immediately rushed into the cell and pulled Harris away from Sanchez. Sanchez was treated for bruises but he was not taken to the hospital.

Sanchez is now in Elmira where he is being evaluated by the State Corrections Department following his sentencing for the murders in August.
The Sheriff's Department says Harris is still at the Holding Center where he faces a variety of charges ranging from assault to harassment and violations of court orders of protection. One woman told us she had one of the court orders of protection against Harris and was surprised when she saw that he went after Sanchez. Meriya Sciolino says she briefly dated Harris. When we asked her why she thought Harris would go after Sanchez she replied "Probably to act like he's a hero...or to get some publicity."

[samanthajane13]

Sanchez attacked in jail by another inmate

Holding Center attack triggered by identity

By Gene Warner
Updated: 09/12/07 11:59 AM


Altemio C. Sanchez was attacked in the Erie County Holding Center in June, in an incident that raises questions about his vulnerability and physical safety in the state prison system.


Sanchez was struck in the head, causing facial cuts, and suffered aggravation of a previous shoulder injury when a fellow inmate realized he was the Bike Path Killer.

His attacker, identified as William D. Harris III, 38, of Tonawanda, was charged with obstructing governmental administration and harassment for the attack shortly before 7:25 p.m. June 22. Harris pleaded guilty to attempted obstructing and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, sheriff’s officials said.

After the incident, according to sheriff’s records, Harris told deputies: “He’s a raping son of a b—, and he kills women. I hit him. Do what you want with me.”

Attorney Andrew C. LoTempio, who represented Sanchez until his Aug. 14 sentencing, was not aware of the incident, but he was not surprised that Sanchez would be singled out. Sanchez was attacked in the county Holding Center but is now serving a sentence of 75 years to life in the state prison system.

“I will say that there is a hierarchy among inmates in the state correctional facilities, and somebody who’s accused of raping strangers is very low on the food chain,” LoTempio said. “They often get physically and emotionally abused in jail.”

LoTempio added that he is concerned about Sanchez’s safety in the prison system, citing the “code of honor” among inmates toward rapists and anyone who targets children.

“I would hope that the Department of [Correctional Services] would take extra precautions because of the highprofile case and the nature of the crimes he committed,” the defense attorney said.

Sheriff’s officials concurred with LoTempio.

“Rapists in prison don’t get free rides,” Undersheriff Brian D. Doyle said. “In prison, there’s a hierarchical structure among the prison population. Historically, rapists and child molesters are most often victimized.”

Such attacks often can be considered almost a “badge of honor” among inmates targeting a well-known prisoner.

Holding Center records show that Sanchez was attacked just three minutes after Harris was brought into the cell in the Constant Observation Unit.

“[Sanchez] is in the public limelight, people know who he is, and he’s going to be subject to more ridicule and more confrontation with other inmates because of the severity of crimes he committed,” said Sheriff’s Deputy Kenneth J. Stevens, who investigated the June incident along with Capt. Ronald L. Kenyon.

Sanchez, in his brief statement about the attack, said he was sitting on his bed when a new inmate entered the unit and started talking with him.
“He asked my name, and I just said Al,” Sanchez wrote. “He pressed it further and asked me what I was in here for, and I did not say. I told him I did not like to talk about it.”

The other inmate then asked Sanchez his last name.

“As soon as I said my last name, Sanchez, he immediately started assaulting me, striking me about my head,” Sanchez stated.

Harris, in a letter to The Buffalo News, said he committed the attack only after Sanchez seemed to brag about his notoriety and flashed a big grin, “as though he were proud of his crimes.”

Sheriff’s deputies apparently believed Sanchez’s version, charging Harris with the misdemeanor crime. Harris was in the Holding Center on a felony criminal contempt charge, according to sheriff’s records.

LoTempio disputed any assertion that Sanchez would have boasted about his crimes, saying that in his interactions with his client, Sanchez never flashed any sign of braggadocio.

“In my dealings with this guy, he was very shamed and embarrassed about what he did,” LoTempio said.

The incident occurred about five weeks after Sanchez confessed to being the Bike Path Killer and less than two months before State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns sentenced him to 75 years to life in prison. Since his Aug. 14 sentencing, Sanchez has been housed in the Elmira Reception Center.

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All I have to say on this one is-what goes around comes around.

I'm sure Altemio is going to be VERY POPULAR in the prison he finally ends up spending the rest of his life in.