Broward jail deaths spark oversight demand

Broward Public Defender Gordon Weekes is demanding changes at the Broward Main Jail after two recent inmate deaths tied to mental illness.

Alvin Stephen Modeste, 43, hanged himself in his cell at the North Broward Jail in Pompano Beach on Dec. 26, less than a month after a Broward judge ordered him to receive evaluation under the state’s Baker Act.

Modeste was scheduled to be evaluated to determine whether he was competent to stand trial on charges of culpable negligence.

His mother had accused him in October of attacking her “for no apparent reason” with a metal wrench, tire iron and wooden pole.

Modeste’s suicide came weeks after another inmate, Janard Geffrard, 29, was beaten to death in the Broward Main Jail by a man who was awaiting trial on a vehicle theft charge and probation violations.

Both Geffrard and his alleged assailant, Kevin Barnes, were identified as mentally ill and in need of treatment.

The Dec. 16 confrontation between Geffrard and Barnes, 35, was captured on surveillance video, said Weekes. But surveillance did nothing to keep the tragedy from unfolding. According to a police report, Barnes told investigators he attacked Geffrard because he believed the victim to be gay.

“An otherwise healthy individual was beaten and choked to death without any intervention on behalf of deputies,” Weekes wrote in a letter to Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony.

In a second letter regarding Modeste’s suicide Weekes complained that inmates were going without supervision for too long: “enough time for him to regrettably engage in self-harm by strangulation. Appropriate supervision and timely intervention by deputies could have prevented this tragedy.”

In response to the suicide, the Sheriff ’s Office released a 2022 letter Tony wrote to Broward’s mayor, chief judge and other local officials asking for more resources to protect the mentally ill in jail.

“No one believes that jail is the most appropriate setting to treat those experiencing mental illness,” he said. “Unfortunately, it [the jail] has been and remains the primary mental health provider in our community.”

That response did not impress Weekes, who called on Tony to more effectively address the conditions in his control and bring in an outside overseer to identify shortfalls and possible solutions.

The Broward Public Defender’s Office has criticized the Sheriff ’s Office for years over care for mentally ill inmates.

Weekes had previously complained to Tony of numerous previous incidents, including one in which a female inmate gave birth unattended and another in which a male inmate cut off his own penis.

Tony has acknowledged the need for additional mental health services in jail. Last week the Sheriff ’s Office released a statement saying Geffrard’s death was under investigation and that two employees, a detention deputy and detention technician, were placed on administrative leave with pay while the investigation proceeds.

“The sheriff has a tough job that can never be done perfectly anyway,” said defense lawyer Bill Gelin, who broke the news of both recent deaths on the JAABlog website, which monitors Broward courts.

“You have a jail population where more than 50 percent of the inmates have mental health issues. We’ve reached the point where inadequate resources are pushing matters past the brink.”