Marion County jail inmate was brutally attacked by fellow inmates. He's suing the sheriff
A lawsuit has been filed against Sheriff Billy Woods by the victim of a violent inmates-on-inmate attack at the Marion County Jail.
The lawsuit was filed by lawyer Robert A. Rush on behalf of the plaintiff, who is identified only by his initials. The suit seeks more than $50,000 in damages.
Rush notes in the lawsuit that Woods is in charge of the county jail and is responsible both for the safety of inmates and for his employees' actions, or failure to act.
Sheriff's Office officials declined to comment on the suit.
What happened?
The suit states the plaintiff was booked into the jail in late July 2019 on charges of possession of methamphetamines and paraphernalia. The man was placed in G-Pod, Section C, an open-style dormitory area that houses male medium security inmates. At the time, there were 81 inmates in the pod, according to the lawsuit.
Two days after the plaintiff was booked in, he was sleeping in a top bunk when two inmates, later identified as Cecil Wryals and Juan Pagan-Ayala, removed him from his bunk and threw him onto the concrete floor. The men dragged him to the back and demanded that he turn over drugs that, in their belief, he had smuggled into the jail in his rectum.
The plaintiff told the men they were wrong, but they struck him and forcibly searched his body, according to the suit. Two other inmates, Steven Villafane and Charles Murillo, hung sheets or blankets to block security cameras. Other inmates were told to "mind their own business," according to the suit.
The reported assault went on for 15 minutes. The lawsuit states Wryals and Pagan-Ayala kicked and beat the victim while he was begging for help. No one came to the man's assistance. That included two detention deputies the plaintiff says were on duty at the time.
The victim was threatened by Wryals with more harm if he reported the assault. An inmate who saw the assault alerted a nurse, and sheriff's office officials were notified, according to the suit.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office investigated
Two sheriff's detectives interviewed inmates about the attack. One investigator watched a security video and heard the victim cry and scream. Villafane's voice was heard on that footage.
Wryals, Murillo and Villafane were prosecuted for the assault and found guilty, according to court records. Pagan-Ayala's case is ongoing.
Wryals was sentenced to a 15-year prison term. Villafane was sentenced to a 10-year prison term. Murillo was sentenced to eight years behind bars.
Previous coverage: 10-year prison term for accused lookout in sexual assault of fellow inmate at Ocala jail
"The Marion County Jail has a history of inmate-on-inmate sexual abuse and battery, fighting, and illegal drug use by inmates in its custody as a result of improper supervision of inmates by detention staff," according to the lawsuit.
Two detention deputies assigned to the pod on the day of the incident failed to act, the suit says.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Sheriff sued for $50,000 plus after brutal inmates-on-inmate attack
