Bloomfield man gets 12 years in prison for stabbing jail guard in neck

• Antonio Cuellar was sentenced on Dec. 20 to 12 years in a New Mexico Department of Corrections in Aztec District Court by District Court Judge Daylene Marsh.
• Cuellar stabbed a San Juan County Adult Detention Center guard when Cuellar was being seen at the Presbyterian Medical Services Farmington Community Health Center at 1001 W. Broadway Ave.
• One day before the stabbing incident, Cuellar was sentenced to 9 years in a state prison.

FARMINGTON — A Bloomfield man has been sentenced to 12 years in a state prison after being convicted for stabbing a county jail guard in the neck with a sharpened piece of plastic.

The new prison sentence will give 25-year-old Antonio Cuellar a total prison sentence of 21 years following Spring 2021 convictions.

Cuellar was sentenced on Dec. 20 to 12 years in a New Mexico Department of Corrections in Aztec District Court by District Court Judge Daylene Marsh, according to court records.

Tyson Quail, Cuellar's attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.

San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O'Brien told The Daily Times the judge's sentencing was appropriate to keep a dangerous individual out of the community. 

Cuellar was convicted of a second-degree felony count of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner and a third-degree felony of aggravated battery upon a peace officer, according to court documents. 

Cuellar was given a nine-year sentence for a deadly weapon conviction and three years for the aggravated battery conviction, according to court documents.

He will get credit for 263 days he served at the county jail while awaiting a jury trial. 

Cuellar stabbed a San Juan County Adult Detention Center guard when Cuellar was being seen at the Presbyterian Medical Services Farmington Community Health Center at 1001 W. Broadway Ave.

The Farmington Police Department was dispatched around 8 a.m. on March 17, 2021.

Cuellar was in a restroom at PMS when he turned around while holding a sharpened piece of plastic about four inches long, charged at the jail guard and stabbed him multiple times.

Cuellar was not handcuffed, and his restraint belt was off at the time of the incident.

The guard had three puncture wounds on the left side of his neck with a three-inch long laceration near his left ear. He was later taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center for treatment.

One day before the stabbing incident, Cuellar was sentenced to 9 years in a state prison.

He was convicted on March 16, 2021, of a second-degree felony count of kidnapping and a third-degree felony count of conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, according to The Daily Times archives.

Cuellar was at the medical clinic receiving dental care before being transferred to a state prison. He has been held at the county jail since Nov. 26, 2019.

Cuellar was transported on Jan. 6 from the county jail into the state prison system, after 772 days at the jail.

Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.

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