SLPD/HPD
KPRC2
KPRC2
HOUSTON - Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia has announced that the two sergeants in the center of the inmate abuse case and four additional supervisors have been terminated.
Twenty-nine employees are currently suspended without pay, with the suspensions ranging from one to 10 days.
"No matter how violent an inmate may be, everyone has an obligation to the proper care that an inmate can have," Garcia said.
As a reminder, Garcia laid out a multi-point plan to ensure safety and prevent future incidents.
Two Harris County detention officers are facing charges for what they're accused of doing to an inmate.
Prosecutors said for at least several weeks, Deterrius "Terry" Rashad Goodwin sat locked up in isolation in a filthy jail cell on the second floor of the Harris County Jail at 1200 Baker Street.
They say detention officer Sgt. Ricky Pickens-Wilson and detention officer-Sgt. John Figaroa tampered with government documents, signing off and claiming they had inspected the cell.
"A sheriff's office compliance team came through and discovered that inmate Terry Goodwin's cell was deplorable. They found dozens of food trays. They found an infestation of gnats. They found horrible conditions," said prosecutor Julian Ramirez.
Both men, employees of the Harris County Sheriff's Office, face two third-degree felony charges in connection with the case, which dates back to 2013. Prosecutors said the jail cell was covered with at least 50 food containers, feces and shreds of Goodwin's jail uniform and pieces of his mattress in the toilet.
The prosecutor said some have claimed the cell was not checked because Goodwin, who suffered from mental illness, was considered dangerous.
"One of the justifications we've heard is that Mr. Goodwin was a combative inmate. And at least one of the detention sergeants did not want to cause a use of force to be necessary. So they chose to avoid the issue and simply not search the cell," said Ramirez.
Pickens-Wilson and Figaroa were relieved of duty.
The punishment range for tampering with a governmental record is from two to 10 years with up to a $10,000 fine.
Mashell Lambert is the inmate's mother and is disgusted by the allegations.
"They left my son in that horrific cell," she said. "My son was set up to kill himself. He had rags hanging form his ceiling. He was about to commit suicide. He's mentally ill, and you just left him there to die."
Lambert told KPRC 2 she wants justice for her son.
"But my hand to my God, I will not stop, I will not stop," she said. "I will keep my foot on them and I will fight for justice for my baby. He didn't deserve this. He is not an animal. He is a human being."
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SLPD/HPD
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