Ely inmate arrested in cell mate's murder

An Ely State Prison inmate has been taken into custody in connection with his cell mate's murder Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect, Gilbert Paliotta, 24, is serving time for convictions in Clark County for battery with a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance and as an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, said Undersheriff Mike Francone of the White Pine County Sheriff's Office.

Howard Skolnik, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Prisons, said Paliotta "does have a history of violence."

"The suspect called out to officers indicating that there was a dead man in his cell," Skolnik said.

A prison medical team responded and attempted to revive Ray Becker, 26, who was pronounced dead at 4:27 p.m.

Skolnik said it appeared that Becker's throat had been cut. White Pine County sheriff's investigators "turned the room upside down," finding small pieces of a blade but nothing they are considering to be a weapon, Francone said.

Becker had been serving a 10-year sentence for a North Las Vegas robbery since Feb. 19, 1993, at the maximum security institution. Authorities were unable to comment on how long the suspect and victim had been sharing a cell.

White Pine County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation as a homicide, however, a motive had not yet been determined as of this morning.

Skolnik said the two cell mates appeared fine when officers made a floor check at 3:15 p.m., one of five checks typically made during a 24-hour period. Officers were alerted of a problem at 4:09 p.m.

"Both of them were on one of the secure units, but when violent inmates are together occasionally things happen," Skolnik said.

The prison has no video camera surveillance of the cells where the victim and suspect had been housed. Instead, officers monitor inmates in the central bubble unit by walking up to the individual cell doors.

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