Corrections officer charged in inmate beating reaches settlement, charges dropped
TRENTON » The Mercer County corrections officer accused of falsifying records after witnessing her hubby co-worker pummel an inmate is no longer facing prosecution.
Trachell Syphax, 33, of Ewing, is officially off the hook in the criminal case after Mercer County punished her with undisclosed administrative discipline, authorities said Friday.
Syphax and her fiancé-turnedhusband Isaac Wood III were both indicted last March on two counts of second-degree official misconduct and one count of tampering with public records in making a false entry with the purpose to defraud following a May 2016 jailhouse beatdown of an inmate.
The indictment against Syphax was dismissed Friday, but the Superior Court criminal case against Wood remains active. Wood, 41, manhandled Rafael Jardines at the county jail in Hopewell Township and dishonestly documented the incident with false information, authorities allege.
Jardines was taken to the hospital on May 11, 2016, after suffering bodily injuries in the tussle, officials said at the time. Jardines, 55, has filed a lawsuit against Mercer County seeking damages, attorney fees and a jury trial on allegations the correction center violated his civil rights.
The county suspended Syphax and Wood without pay following the incident. Wood remains suspended without pay as a Mercer County corrections officer, but it is not clear what the employment status is for Syphax, who has been punished with untold levels of disciplinary action on the administrative side.
“The administrative case against Syphax settled yesterday,” Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, said Friday via email. “Although the terms of the settlement are confidential, the details were disclosed to this office. Given the severity of the discipline imposed, which is in addition to the unpaid suspension she served from May 16, 2016, until Feb. 8, 2018, the State found that no useful purpose would be served by further prosecution of the criminal case. Accordingly, the indictment was dismissed today.”
Given the confidential nature of the settlement, The Trentonian on Friday was not able to confirm whether Syphax has been terminated from her county corrections officer job. The newspaper reached out to Mercer County on Friday for an update on Wood’s and Syphax’s employment status.
“Both are suspended without pay,” Mercer County spokeswoman Julie Willmot said in an email. “Syphax may have made an agreement but I don’t have the details. You would need to follow up with the prosecutor.” Both defendants had been slated for a Feb. 20 trial date before Syphax’s criminal case came to final resolution Friday with her indictment getting dismissed.
Wood as of Friday was still scheduled to appear before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Bingham II on Feb. 20. He is represented by private defense attorney Scott A. Krasny. The Trentonian tried reaching Krasny by email on Friday but did not receive a reply as of press time.
Syphax’s defense attorney is Jeffrey Ziegelheim. He could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Mercer County First Assistant Prosecutor Doris Galuchie is handling the criminal prosecution of Wood on behalf of the state.
Wood, who turns 42 next week, was previously rejected as a Correction Officer Recruit candidate by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. The DOC also requested to remove Wood’s name from the eligible list for Correction Officer Recruit on the basis of “medical unfitness to perform effectively the duties of the position,” according to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission.
Wood nearly 20 years ago filed an appeal to the DOC’s decision, but the Merit System Board directed that his appeal be denied in 1999, public records show. The functions, powers and duties of the Merit System Board have since been transferred to the Civil Service Commission.
Wood and Syphax were engaged when the May 2016 jail incident occurred but have since become husband and wife. Because authorities brought the case by summons complaint, there was never a warrant issued for the arrest of either defendant, so monetary bail was never imposed.