Ex-Richland County corrections officer arraigned in 2019 inmate Alexander Rios' death
A former Richland County Jail corrections officer was arraigned Wednesday on three felony charges in connection with the September 2019 death of an inmate who was forcibly subdued by officers at the jail and died eight days later at a local hospital.
James Mayer III, the attorney for defendant Mark D. Cooper of Shiloh, entered a not guilty plea on his client's behalf before Richland County Common Pleas Court Magistrate Jill Cochran.
A $100,000 personal recognizance bond had been in place for Cooper, but at the 1 p.m. arraignment Cochran ordered that Cooper have a $25,000 cash bond, plus personal recognizance bond, plus electronic monitoring and no contact with the victim's family or colleagues from the Richland County Jail.
Cooper was served the indictment Dec. 15 in connection with the death of Alexander Rios, 28, of Wakeman, who tried to flee down a jail hallway and was tackled and held down by corrections officers in an altercation captured on video.
Earlier this month, a Richland County grand jury indicted Cooper on a first-degree felony count of involuntary manslaughter, a third-degree felony count of involuntary manslaughter and a third-degree felony count of reckless homicide.
Cochran said the first-degree felony, the most serious of the charges, includes a minimum of three years in prison.
"The harm done in this case is the most harm that could be done in any type of case that resulted in the death of an individual," the magistrate said.
Before setting the cash bond, Cochran said she considers the accused to be a flight risk, but not a risk to obstruct justice or a risk to the community.
Mayer had argued his client was not a flight risk, has no criminal history and lives locally, and worked as a security guard until was placed on leave by the company upon the indictment.
A prosecutor's pretrial has been set for Jan. 9, according to the clerk of courts office.
S. Forrest Thompson, a Medina County prosecutor appointed by Richland County Prosecutor Gary Bishop to investigate the case, told media after the arraignment that he could not comment on any details as to whether any other indictments are possible.
"At this point I feel that anything that I would say would have a potential of harming a potential jury pool or demeaning the importance of the case or diffusing the issues of the case. The facts are self-evident and I think anybody who is watching the video or who knows the facts of this case — and I know the media has done this on numerous occasions. I am confidant you can answer that question for yourself about why Mr. Cooper (was charged)," Thompson said.
Thompson said the case took over three years because, as he said three years ago, "it would take as long as it takes."
"This is how long it takes," Thompson said after the arraignment in the hallway. "We have a cause of death that is questionable. We have records that don't appear to tell the full story. And we have a mixed report that's needed sorting out by experts. All of those things take time. We only have one chance to get it right and we have to get it right every time. As I told you then and I'll tell you again: It takes as long as it takes."
Rios' stepfather, Don Mould; and Rios' biological mother, Toni Mould, spoke with media outside the courtroom.
Toni Mould said she didn't know if charges would ever be filed against anyone at the jail.
"I didn't know if it would ever come to this but thankfully my husband has pushed and pushed and brought as much information as he could to the table and hopefully get it to where it's at. We're just happy to see some kind of beginning, some kind of closure for us," she said.
"Three years is a long time to not know, not know if anything was going to be done," she said. "Let the jury decide."
Toni Mould said if there are others who need to be charged, she is hopeful that will happen.
"It's baby steps. It's the beginning. We're ready to get moving," she added.
She said she feels relief, nervousness and concern about this first step.
"There's a lot of learning for us about how it's going to go and what's going to happen. We're not used to court cases," she said.
Her husband said there is a video that reflects the incident.
"There's some things that need to get answered," he said.
The Richland County Sheriff's Office had reached a wrongful death settlement with Rios' family for $4 million a year ago.
'He's turning blue': Family demands answers in Richland jail death after video surfaces
The jail video obtained by the News Journal in 2021 through a public records request shows the five corrections officers on Sept. 19, 2019, holding Rios down, stepping and kneeling on his back, while another punches the inmate in the head and presses his head into the concrete floor as they tried to handcuff him.
One officer placed one foot on Rios’ back and lifted his other foot off the ground, putting his full weight on the inmate for several seconds.
Rios could be heard gasping.
About two minutes after he ran out of the cell, Rios became unresponsive.
Rios was taken to OhioHealth Mansfield and never regained consciousness. He was removed from a ventilator and died on Sept. 27, 2019.
Rios' autopsy was conducted by Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger. On the death certificate, Richland County Coroner Dr. Dan Burwell listed the cause of death as "excited delirium" and noted Rios tested positive for amphetamines.
lwhitmir@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ex-Richland County corrections officer arraigned in inmate's death
