Guard admits role in beatings
NORRISTOWN » A former Montgomery County correctional officer has admitted to violating his duties in connection with the beatings of two inmates by other guards and the attempted coverup that followed.
Jason Michael Marshall, 41, of Zionsville, Lehigh County, pleaded guilty in county court to misdemeanor charges of official oppression and obstructing administration of law in connection with incidents that occurred on Feb. 14, 2017, at the county jail in Lower Providence.
Common Pleas Court Judge William R. Carpenter deferred
sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Marshall.
Marshall, who remains free on bail pending sentencing, faces a possible maximum sentence of two to four years in prison on the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines could allow for a lesser sentence.
With the guilty plea, Marshall admitted that he gave one light kick to inmate Derrick Houlihan during a beating by other correctional officers and then was present at a group meeting where the perpetrators discussed getting their stories straight and destroying jailhouse video surveillance that recorded their improper conduct with two inmates.
Authorities alleged Marshall was the least culpable of the six correctional officers charged in connection with the incidents.
“He’s admitting to violating his duties as a correctional officer in regards to being part of an assault and then a cover-up,” said county Assistant District Attorney Kelly Lloyd, explaining the nature of Marshall’s guilty plea.
Under the law, a person commits official oppression when acting in an official capacity they subject another to mistreatment or other infringement of personal rights.
Other charges of aggravated and simple assault, recklessly endangering other persons and conspiracy will be dismissed against Marshall at time of sentencing.
Marshall, who is represented by defense lawyer John I. McMahon Jr., is one of six former correctional officers arrested last year during the investigation of the beatings of two inmates and the alleged cover-up that followed. At the time of the arrests, authorities said the discovery of “disturbing” video surveillance footage of one of the beatings helped crack the case when officers allegedly tried to cover-up their conduct.
The five others charged include: Darrin Collins, 53, a former lieutenant at the jail, of Phoenixville, Chester County; Alfred Gregory Jr., 33, of East Coventry, Chester County; Edwin Negron, 54, a former captain at the jail, of Exton, Chester County; Anthony Saxby, 32, of Upper Gwynedd; and Randall Sims, 40, of Norristown.
Each of the other five
men faces charges of aggravated and simple assault, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, hindering apprehension or prosecution, official oppression, and obstructing administration of law.
Judge Carpenter has scheduled a joint trial for all five men to begin Jan. 22, 2019. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
If convicted of all the charges at trial, each of the five others faces a possible maximum sentence of 35 to 70 years in prison. Each of the men remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail while awaiting trial.
All six correctional officers were fired following the jail’s internal investigation.
That investigation began when an assistant warden was informed verbally by correctional officers that they used physical force on an inmate on Feb. 14. That required the submission of incident reports as well as obtaining jailhouse video surveillance footage that was available, prosecutors said.
When an initial internal review found that some officers may have used excessive force on two prisoners, may have lied about their
involvement and took steps to minimize or destroy available surveillance footage county detectives were notified and a grand jury investigation was initiated.
The grand jury investigation revealed that on Feb. 14 some of the correctional officers were involved with assaulting inmates Houlihan, 42, of Philadelphia, who wears a prosthetic left leg, and 18-year-old Matthew Ruffings, of Norristown, in two high security areas of the jail.
Marshall did not participate in the assault of Ruffings, according to authorities.
Prosecutors alleged Houlihan was initially assaulted in his cell, taken for medical treatment, and then assaulted again in a day room area or community area of the K-6 section of the prison. Video surveillance showed that Houlihan did not fight back.
According to court documents, Houlihan was not wearing his prosthetic leg at the time of the alleged second beating.
Court papers indicate Houlihan suffered a laceration over his eye during the first assault. Houlihan suffered two broken ribs as well as cuts and abrasions to his arms and his leg during the second alleged assault.
Negron initially claimed to jail officials that Houlihan had been giving staff “problems” and had “acted up” and that force had to be used to return him to his cell. Neither Negron nor Collins fully disclosed the extent of force, according to the grand jury presentment.
Court papers indicate correctional officers may not have been aware that a new camera had been installed in the K-6 section and that it had been actively recording at the time of the assault of Houlihan. When jailhouse officials reviewed the video footage they concluded that what they viewed did not match what correctional officers documented in their incident reports, according to court papers.
In the video footage of the second alleged assault Houlihan is seen “hopping on his one natural leg as he entered K-6 under escort by Saxby and Sims, according to court papers. Houlihan went to the floor face-down and there was no evidence on the video he was assaultive or otherwise combative at that point, the grand jury presentment revealed.
Later, Saxby, Sims and Gregory are observed punching and kicking Houlihan as he flailed on the floor in an apparent attempt
to protect himself, authorities alleged. Several of the accused allegedly then “combined efforts to unleash a series of kicks, punches, and stomps onto various parts of Houlihan’s body, including his torso and chest,” according to court papers.
Gregory allegedly also taunted Houlihan as he was on the ground in a helpless position. Gregory is observed kicking Houlihan’s prosthetic leg into a day room and Houlihan was “inexplicably denied the use of his prosthetic leg for approximately 12 hours,” according to the indictment.
Although three correctional officers wore body cameras during parts of the alleged incidents, no footage was turned over to jail officials, court papers indicate.
Later that morning, Ruffings was assaulted in his cell with punches to his face by several officers. Additionally, three officers who were wearing body cameras during the incident did not activate them or took actions to destroy the video that was captured, prosecutors alleged.
Ruffings suffered a broken nose and bruising to his face as a result of the alleged beating, the grand jury presentment indicated.