Mark Cooper to be retried in case involving inmate Alexander Rios' 2019 death

The case of a former Richland County corrections officer accused of causing the death of a jail inmate will be tried again.

Following a pretrial by conference call Wednesday afternoon, Judge Brent Robinson scheduled the Mark Cooper case for trial starting April 15.

Last month, a jury could not reach a verdict in the case, prompting Robinson to declare a mistrial.

"I think the family deserves justice, and I think the community deserves justice," special Prosecutor Forrest Thompson said of his decision to try the case a second time.

Thompson, the Medina County prosecutor, is handling the case because the Richland County Prosecutor's Office has a conflict of interest.

Cooper, 56, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, one a first-degree felony, the other a third-degree felony; and reckless homicide, a third-degree felony.

Cooper's charges are in connection with the death of Alexander Rios, 28, after the inmate was subdued by several corrections officers on Sept. 19, 2019. Rios was in the county jail on a warrant.

Prosecutor's options were to retry case or drop it

Thompson had two choices, retry the case or drop the matter.

"Frankly, given the outcome of the first trial, we didn't know which way they were going to go," defense attorney James Mayer III said. "I don't have any real comment as far as reaction at this point. Of course, we were looking forward to hearing from Mr. Thompson and Mr. (Scott) Salisbury with respect to what essentially amounts to their call."

In the first trial, jurors deliberated for about 12 hours over the course of three days before the foreperson sent a note to Judge Robinson, telling him they could not come to a consensus on any of the three counts Cooper faced.

"That's not the same as an acquittal. It's not the same as a not guilty," Thompson said.

Both sides talked about the circumstances in a retrial.

"You've already heard the evidence," Thompson said. "You have the opportunity, if you have feedback that the evidence was incomplete, to shore that up.

"I think the evidence was accurate and very compelling, but at the same time, that's why we have juries."

Mayer tried the case with co-counsel Sean Boone.

Retrials offer different challenges for attorneys

"Obviously, retrials are labor intensive," he said. "With the record that's created, you're obligated to get transcripts of everything that happened in the first trial and be well-studied up on those. It kind of adds an extra layer."

Both attorneys have already notified the families on each side.

Thompson declined to provide details, wanting to respect the privacy of the Rios family.

"I don't think it's any big secret that they want the case retried," he said.

Following the confrontation with corrections officers, Rios was taken to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, but he never regained consciousness. His family took him off life support eight days later.

In a jail video, several corrections officers can be seen holding Rios down, stepping and kneeling on his back while an officer punches his head into the concrete floor and they struggle to handcuff him.

Cooper stood on Rios' back with both feet, which prosecutors claimed caused his death.

Mayer contacted Cooper and his wife.

"We didn't talk about his feelings," the defense attorney said. "I wanted to get the information to him."

While the matter is pending, Cooper remains out on bond.

mcaudill@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Former Richland County corrections officer to be retried in jail death