Riot’s ex-suspect returns to prison

DOVER, Del. — A former prison inmate who was accused of leading a fatal riot at Delaware’s maximum-security prison but acquitted on all charges is back behind bars.

Authorities at Howard R. Young prison in Wilmington took custody of 33-year-old Roman Shankaras shortly after 5:30 p.m. Saturday after he was arrested by Wilmington police.

Shankaras is charged with possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person prohibited, possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited, violating probation, and violating an ordinance regarding stopping, standing or parking near a fire hydrant. He remained in custody Sunday, with cash bail set at $10,001, according to Department of Correction officials.

Shankaras was one of 18 inmates who were charged in the 2017 riot, during which prison guard Steven Floyd was killed. Two other guards were released by inmates after being beaten and tormented. A female counselor was held hostage for nearly 20 hours before tactical teams burst through a wall with a backhoe and rescued her.

Prosecutors described Shankaras as a “mastermind” of the uprising. He was one of 16 inmates charged with murder, assault, kidnapping, conspiracy and riot.

But a jury acquitted him on all charges last year after two days of deliberations. The acquittal spared him from a mandatory life sentence. Shankaras, who had completed a seven-year sentence for unrelated riot and robbery charges while awaiting trial for the riot, was released from custody just hours later.