Former inmates sue Nueces County, former jailer they allege assaulted them in jail
Two people who were in custody at the Nueces County Jail in 2019 are suing the county and a corrections officer whom they accused of brutally assaulting them while they were inmates.
The lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and name Nueces County and the former jailer and county employee, 27-year-old Bobby Joe Benavides, as defendants.
The lawsuits contend Benavides, then 24, had separate altercations with the plaintiffs that caused significant injuries, with one reportedly being hospitalized for three weeks after a 2019 run-in. The lawsuits state Benavides was "known to everyone in the jail as 'The Punisher.'"
The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for the injuries.
Court records show Benavides has not responded to either of the lawsuits filed last year, resulting in a federal judge issuing a partial judgment in one of the cases last week.
Document: Inmate spat on Nueces County jailer before assault
On Wednesday, the Nueces County Commissioners Court considered settlement demands for each of the lawsuits. After meeting in closed session, commissioners reconvened in open session and unanimously voted to reject the demands, opting instead to continue negotiations.
The plaintiffs both retained attorney Chris Gale, of Gale Law Group. Gale said he would continue negotiations with the county's counsel on the lawsuits.
"(Benavides) has a default judgment against him in regards to his liability in this case, but what we're doing with the county is a little bit different. We're trying to see if we can resolve it," he said Friday in an interview with the Caller-Times. "Hopefully we can."
The Caller-Times' attempts to reach Benavides on Friday for comment were not successful. It was not immediately clear if he retained an attorney.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, who is presiding over one of the lawsuits, signed and issued a partial judgment against Benavides on Monday, stating he had failed to respond, plead or otherwise defend his case, court records show.
The partial judgment comes almost a year after Benavides pleaded guilty to assaulting the plaintiff in the lawsuit, Daniel Benavidez. The former jailer was sentenced in May 2021 and given five years of probation and indefinitely barred from holding a peace officer or jailer license, court records show.
The lawsuit and criminal investigation stem from an altercation between the two on Sept. 2, 2019. Then, jail surveillance footage captured the assault and showed Benavides hit the inmate more than 25 times, resulting in a fractured rib, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Caller-Times.
The lawsuit contends the fight began because of a dispute over medication. The affidavit states the inmate spat in Benavides' face before the former jailer "re-entered the cell and physically assaulted (the) inmate with his hands causing (the inmate) to fall onto the bunk on his back."
More: Nueces County jailer accused of assaulting inmate put on administrative leave
The former inmate — who court records show was also charged when he fought back — pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in March 2021 and was sentenced to 180 days in jail, court records show.
Nueces County Felony Chief Prosecutor Angelica Hernandez, who prosecuted both cases, said the plea deal for the former jailer was reached through negotiations and with the consent of the victim.
In addition to five years of deferred adjudication probation, Benavides was fined and required to relinquish his jailer license and take anger management courses, court records show.
"The jailer used excessive force. I realize that (Daniel Benavidez) spit in his face but he should not have reacted the way he did," Hernandez said. The plea deal means Benavides "can never be a law enforcement officer again and he'll never be in a position of trust again. He has the same conditions that anybody else would have been charged with this type of offense."
Daniel Benavidez filed his lawsuit against the county and the former jailer in August 2021. A month earlier, another former inmate, Adan DeLeon, filed a lawsuit naming Nueces County and Benavides as defendants.
That lawsuit contends Benavides assaulted DeLeon on July 14, 2019, when the former jailer allegedly beat him "to the extent that he was hospitalized (for over three weeks) and treated for an eye socket fracture, a nose fracture, two fractured ribs and several cracked (discs) on his neck."
The lawsuit does not detail the events leading up to the alleged incident.
As Benavides has not responded to this lawsuit, Gale requested the court clerk enter a default, meaning the clerk will check if enough time has passed and if Benavides was served papers. If it's granted, the judge could issue a partial judgment as to Benavides' liability.
Such judgments on either lawsuit could be appealed.
The outcome is not certain, as later proceedings will determine whether the county is liable.
The county and plaintiffs could instead reach an agreement and settle. Otherwise, a jury trial could be held to determine the amount of compensation owed to the plaintiffs for each lawsuit.
Chase Rogers covers local government and industry in South Texas. Contact him at chase.rogers@caller.com or on Twitter @chasedrogers. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Former inmates sue Nueces County, corrections officer Bobby Benavides
