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Arizona: The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced on May 28, 2014, that it would not seek criminal charges against state prison guard Jesse Dorantes for the death of his K9 service dog, Ike, who was left in an unattended vehicle in the summer heat for seven hours. The DA’s office cited a 2007 case in

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News Bites

Alabama A March 2, 2014, fight at the Elmore Correctional Facility resulted in eight prisoners being transported to Jackson Hospital, where three were admitted for further treatment. Details on the extent of the prisoners’ injuries and the circumstances of the fight were not released. Argentina Raunchy photos depicting female jail guards and superintendents in various

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Man Sentenced to 53 Years in Prison and Married Same Day

By Prison Legal News Danne Desbrow will remember September 17, 2013, as a day with both good and bad news.  First, the bad: he was sentenced to 53 years to life in prison after being convicted of murder.  Then the good: he got married … by the same judge who had just sentenced him.  Plus,

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Arizona Boy Murders Maricopa County Jail Guard

A Maricopa County jail employee was murdered in his driveway by a 15-year-old boy who police say was motivated by gangs, drugs, and guns. The teen, identified on September 25, 2013, as Leonard Moreno, will be tried as an adult for the random shooting of Jorge Vargas, 27. Vargas was an eight-year employee of the

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Prison News in Brief: Michigan through Texas

By Prison Legal News

Michigan Prison News

On August 6, 2013, a jury returned a not guilty verdict in the trial of Lansing jail guard David Gladstone, who was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery of a prisoner.  Although Gladstone was found not guilty, an internal investigation is pending to determine whether he violated any department policies or procedures.  Jail guard Gladstone had been suspended from the Lansing jail pending the outcome of the criminal charges.

New York Prison News

A violent, bloody brawl broke out among rival gangs — the Trinitarians and the Crips — at Rikers Island on August 22, 2013.  As many as 50 prisoners were involved in the melee, which was reportedly triggered over the use of a hot plate to cook a grilled cheese sandwich.  The fight lasted nearly an hour and eleven Rikers Island prisoners and a guard were injured.  In surveillance video, prisoners were seen attacking each other with mop handles and hurling chairs; one prisoner also threw hot water, and several suffered serious stab wounds.

Rhode Island Prison News

On July 18, 2013, Gaulter Botas, a former prison guard at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute, received an 18-month prison sentence.  Botas had assaulted prisoners by hitting one with a telephone book and another with a plastic clipboard, a package of paper, a bag of food, and his closed fist.  Four Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute prisoners said they were assaulted by Botas and another guard, Kenneth Viveiros.  Botas’ conviction was upheld in April 2013 by the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and a superior court judge rejected his motion for a reduced sentence.  In 2006, Botas and Viveiros were among a number of prison guards named in a lawsuit alleging that they had made a prisoner eat his own feces; that suit settled for $120,000.

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Prison News in Brief: Kansas through Texas

By Prison Legal News

Kansas Prison News

Former Sedgwick County Jail guard David Kendall, 23, was charged with crimes ranging from aggravated sodomy to misdemeanor sexual battery for raping two prisoners and sexually propositioning four others.  These prisoners have collectively filed claims totaling over $20 million against Sedgwick County.  Kendall posted $500,000 bond and was released from the Sedgwick County Jail with a GPS monitoring system.  At an August 30, 2013 hearing, testimony was presented that one of the prisoners accusing Kendall of rape had had consensual sex with him, then fabricated the rape claim to cash in on a civil suit.

Michigan Prison News

Former Michigan Department of Corrections employee Michael Paul Salyers pleaded no contest on August 2, 2013 to a lesser charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct; he was originally charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct of a state prisoner.  Police said that since 2006, Salyers had a sexual relationship with a female Michigan state prisoner who has since been released.  At the time, Salyers was a mechanic at the now-closed Camp Brighton facility.

Minnesota Prison News

A nurse working for a private medical contractor, Advanced Correctional Healthcare/Diamond Pharmacy Services, was charged with illegally obtaining prescriptions for oxycodone for personal use by using the names of prisoners in her care at the Isanti County Jail.  Cara Sue Lindgren was charged with felony fifth-degree drug possession by fraud or deceit on August 9, 2013.  An investigation into the wrongdoing at the Isanti County Jail remains ongoing.

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Prison News in Brief: Florida through Maine

By Prison Legal News

Florida Prison News

On July 29, 2013, Richard Stotts, 48, was fired from his job as a Pinellas County detention deputy.  Stotts was working in the booking area of the jail on May 8 when he abruptly smacked prisoner David Allan Koons on the head and neck, eventually pinning him to the ground.  The incident was recorded on surveillance video.  Stotts had been the subject of previous investigations into improper conduct involving Pinellas County prisoners; he was charged with assaulting Koons, because Koons declined to cooperate with investigators.  This was the third time in less than a year that a Pinellas County jail guard was fired for using excessive force.

Illinois Prison News

An August 8, 2013 road rage incident resulted in murder charges being filed against a Cook County jail guard.  Police say 23-year-old Montrel Moss threw a cup of water that hit a van being driven by jail guard Edgar Singleton, Jr.  Singleton retaliated by shooting Moss in the neck with a 9mm handgun; Moss was pronounced dead a short time later.  According to a statement from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Singleton was subsequently de-deputized and fired.

Indiana Prison News

A report filed by Marion County jailers stated that on August 1, 2013, an unidentified 24-year-old Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) worker flashed her official ID to gain access to the Marion County Arrestee Processing Center in order to get some “alone time” with a prisoner.  The female DCS employee was escorted to a meeting room where Marion County jail staff said they saw her and the prisoner engage in unauthorized physical contact, including touching and holding hands.  Upon questioning, the DCS worker admitted she had no official business at the Marion County jail; her badge was confiscated and she was ordered to leave.  No criminal charges were filed, but she was fired in connection with the incident.

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Prison News in Brief: Oklahoma through Tennessee

By Prison Legal News

This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from Oklahoma through Tennessee and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.

Oklahoma Prison News

Darren “Veneno” Padron, 22, is one of six prisoners accused of planning and carrying out the June 13, 2012 stabbing death of fellow prisoner Sonny J. Limpy, 25, at the GEO Group-operated Lawton Correctional Facility.  On July 18, 2013, Padron pleaded guilty to his role in the murder and was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison with five suspended.  Also charged were Alonzo “Coon” Florez, Gerardo “Guito” Sanduval, Jose Garcia, Ryan “Frankie” Garcia, and Armando Luna.  Testimony indicated that the killing was ordered after Limpy refused to join “The 13 Movement,” an initiative to unify all Hispanic gangs under one leadership.

Oklahoma Prison News

On July 10, 2013, a prisoner at the Tulsa County Jail was found unresponsive during security checks.  A nurse who rushed to treat him experienced a sudden cardiac medical emergency and had to be taken to a local hospital.  Despite resuscitation efforts by jail staff and the Tulsa Fire Department, prisoner Brian Keith Perry, 41, was pronounced dead.  Investigators from the Sheriff’s Department ruled out foul play and Perry’s death is believed to be a suicide.  The nurse was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

Pakistan Prison News

On July 29, 2013, militants attacked a prison in northwest Pakistan and reportedly freed more than 250 prisoners.  Pakistan Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the assault and said 150 militants took part.  Officials had received a letter threatening an attack on the facility, but did not expect one so soon.  The militants arrived by car and motorcycles, then began a 41/2 hour assault on the prison using bombs, grenades, and guns.  Some of the attackers, wearing police uniforms, used megaphones to call out the names of specific prisoners.  Six police officers, six prisoners, and two civilians were killed, including one prisoner who was beheaded.

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