Ex-jail guard admits guilt

Sellie to serve 6 months for severely beating detainee

SCHENECTADY — A former Schenectady County correction officer will serve no more than six months behind bars for a 2020 boot-stomping attack on a jail detainee that the county’s top prosecutor called the worst case of law enforcement brutality in his more than three-decade tenure.

Ex-jail officer Eugene Sellie, 29, who faced up to seven years in state prison if convicted at trial of the Nov. 9, 2020, stomping of John Mannarino in a room of the jail that contained no video cameras, pleaded guilty to felony assault charges Tuesday in a deal that will allow him to serve his time in a county jail rather than a state prison cell.

With jury selection slated to start Friday, Sellie cut his plea deal directly with Judge Gary C. Hobbs by admitting to a four-count indictment that included two counts of second-degree assault and two misdemeanor charges of official misconduct. Sellie’s decision eliminated Schenectady County prosecutors from playing a part in the negotiations; the defendant spurned their plea deal of four years in state prison.

The court appearance coincided with the guilty plea and sentencing of former county jail Sgt. Timothy Bruce, who was working as Sellie’s supervisor on the night of the attack. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor official misconduct charge.

“In our view, it’s really the worst incident of law enforcement violence in an unprovoked situation that I’ve ever had in 33 years of doing this,” District Attorney Robert Carney, joined by Assistant District Attorney Peter Willis, told the Times Union after the guilty plea. Carney said Mannarino, while he was briefly being held in the jail after an arrest, insulted Sellie who, in turn, took the detainee into the room with no cameras where he beat and kicked him.

Mannarino, after leaving the jail, collapsed two blocks away at Albany and Veeder streets. A passing parole officer spotted Mannarino severely injured and rendered assistance, Carney said. He said Mannarino suffered six broken ribs, a fractured collarbone and punctured lung requiring two surgeries.

“It was life-threatening injuries,” Carney said. “He did a great deal of harm and he betrayed his badge.”

In court, Hobbs, a Glens Falls City Court judge, questioned Sellie on the details of his

crime as the ex-officer’s family members watched from the courtroom bench. Sellie stood beside his attorney, Andrew Safranko.

Asked if he intentionally used his boot to cause a physical injury to Mannarino, Sellie replied: “Yes, your honor.”

The judge asked Sellie and Bruce if they did not seek medical help for Mannarino. Both said they sought no medical help.

The judge warned Sellie that if he violates the terms of the plea agreement between now and his sentencing on April 17, he could still impose a sentence of up to seven years.

Willis requested that the judge ask Sellie if he agreed that he was not justified, as he previously claimed, to attack Mannarino in self-defense.

“Yes, your honor,” replied Sellie, who will begin his sentence on Friday.

Safranko told the Times Union he appreciated the judge’s efforts in the plea deal.

“When Judge Hobbs took over this case and looked at it with a fresh set of eyes and suggested the outcome that was now agreed to, Eugene Sellie made a reasoned decision to resolve this case,” Safranko said. “Today’s resolution brings an end to this case and provides certainty to Eugene, his family, and the community. Eugene will serve his sentence and take the probationary period to show that he is and will be a productive member of society.”

Bruce, who faced a maximum penalty of a year in jail for official misconduct, was ordered to pay a $500 fine and a $250 court surcharge. Hobbs required him to surrender his firearms and forbid him from having contact with Mannarino.

Both Sellie and Bruce were fired shortly after the attack, which prompted the county to settle a federal lawsuit in October with Mannarino for $562,500.

He still receives medical treatment.

Authorities did not alert Mannarino or his attorney about the possible pleas and Tuesday’s court appearances, according to his attorney, Kevin Luibrand. Prosecutors called Mannarino after court ended.

“John was grateful that he was believed and that the charges were filed,” Luibrand said Tuesday. “He expected more significant consequences but is not expressing criticism toward anyone other than the officer who broke his ribs and assaulted him and those who covered it up.”