Two corrections officers charged in Fayette inmate beating
Criminal charges were filed Tuesday afternoon against two former corrections officers accused of beating a Fayette County inmate while he was handcuffed and shackled earlier this month.
Ryan Sigley and Amadeus Marinucci are charged with aggravated assault, official oppression, unsworn falsification, simple assault and reckless endangerment in connection with the alleged beating of 37-year-old Robert Stimmell of Uniontown as he was being processed on Oct. 8.
Stimmell also filed a civil lawsuit Monday in federal court against the two officers and a third who was allegedly involved in the incident, as well as Fayette County, which he said has a “long-standing custom of tolerating excessive force.”
The county prison board voted earlier this month to fire Sigley and Marinucci from their positions at the Fayette County jail.
No criminal charges are being filed against Kris Upole, a third corrections officer who was given a 10-day suspension.
All three had been placed on administrative leave after the incident.
Marinucci, 27, of Brownsville, and Sigley, 26, of Smithfield, appeared before Judge Jason Cox for arraignment Tuesday. Both posted self-surety bonds after Cox set bail at $100,000 for each.
Stimmell was taken to WVU Medicine Uniontown Hospital before being transferred to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. He suffered at least four fractured ribs, a brain bleed, a traumatic brain injury and permanent vision loss as a result of the assaults, he said in his federal lawsuit.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele said the criminal investigation had included witness statements, hours of surveillance footage from areas of the jail with cameras and Stimmell’s medical records.
Video from the jail showed Stimmell arriving at the jail in normal condition, then later being escorted into the area by Sigley and Marinucci, according to their criminal complaints. The video then later shows Stimmell leaving the intake attention for medical attention, with a swelled face and “barely able to walk,” their complaint said.
“Based on what we saw as a part of that comprehensive investigation, we decided to file the charges that we’re filing today,” Aubele said.
Aubele thanked the public for their patience with the investigation.
“These guards were placed on administrative leave immediately, and there was no danger to anybody in the facility at that time,” he said.
On Monday, Stimmell sued the three officers, along with Fayette County, arguing that they and other officers had engaged in excessive use of force for years without proper training or disciplinary actions from the county.
The federal complaint said the officers assaulted Stimmell in an area of the jail where strip searches are carried out. Because it had no surveillance cameras, it was known to be an area where officers frequently used excessive force, the suit contends.
Fayette County jail would also overwrite its video after a certain amount of time, rather than preserving it after allegations or grievances, the complaint said.
“Together, the unmonitored strip-search area and the county’s video-retention practice ensured that excessive-force allegations arising from intake would rarely be corroborated, and they signaled to officers that force used outside camera view would go unpunished,” the complaint said.
Stimmell was “neither resistive nor combative” during the search, the complaint said. When he was brought to the jail, court documents stated, Stimmell was 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 120 pounds, posing no threat to the officers.
“Even if Mr. Stimmell had expressed frustration or made statements at some point during his arrest or intake, he was handcuffed, shackled, outnumbered by three officers, and complying with orders when the Corrections Defendants beat him,” the complaint said.
All three officers punched, kicked, shoved and choked Stimmell in the face and head for several minutes without interruption as he was being restrained, Stimmell said in his lawsuit.
According to Sigley and Marinucci’s criminal complaints, Sigley told police Stimmell had refused repeated orders to place his hand on his head and tensed up before telling the officers he was going to beat them up once his cuffs were off. Stimmell then punched at Sigley with his right hand when the restraints were removed, according to the criminal complaints.
Sigley and Marinucci then swung at Stimmell multiple times in the face and body, while Sigley took Stimmell to the floor, where Stimmell hit his head and face hard, their criminal complaints said.
Another corrections officer told Uniontown police he had seen Upole holding Stimmell down while three other officers were removing Stimmell’s clothing in the shower.
The federal complaint also alleges the corrections officers’ actions were part of a larger pattern at the county jail of excessive force against inmates, often against detainees who were already physically restrained or not resisting.
The officers had also been the subjects of previous use of force complaints Stimmell made to the warden, deputy warden and the prison board, none of which resulted in meaningful discipline, the complaint said.
“Fayette County’s custom of tolerating excessive force, its failure to investigate and discipline, its unmonitored strip-search area and video practices, and its failure to train and supervise were the moving force behind the assault on Mr. Stimmell,” the complaint said.
The suit alleges the three officers violated Stimmell’s 14th Amendment rights through use of excessive force and by failing to intervene against the others. It also alleges assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Stimmell’s suit also said Fayette County has liability, due to “policies, customs and deliberate failures to train, supervise and discipline” its officers.
Stimmell is seeking compensatory and special damages against the three officers and Fayette County, as well as punitive damages against the officers.