Seven defendants have pleaded in July 2020 riot at Washington County Detention Center
Two more men have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor rioting for a July 25, 2020, riot at the Washington County Detention Center.
Anthony Lonon, whom Assistant State's Attorney Holland Burch said the state believed was the ringleader, was sentenced to five years in state prison by Washington County Circuit Court Judge Mark K. Boyer on Wednesday. Lonon had a 51-day credit.
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Lonon, 37, of Hagerstown, indicated at least once during the hearing that he didn't want to plead but proceeded with the plea bargain hearing and sentencing after the judge and he went through a series of questions. During the sentencing portion, Lonon said he was present when actions such as breaking into a cell and trying to start a fire occurred, but he didn't do either and was trying to de-escalate the situation.
Boyer told Lonon that facts support the state's characterization of him being the ringleader.
Lonon and Andrew Burke 33, of Gaithersburg, Md., were scheduled for a three-day jury trial to start Wednesday, but instead they pleaded guilty to misdemeanor riot.
Burke was sentenced to five years in state prison, with all but 18 months suspended and to be served at the detention center.
Boyer ordered Lonon and Burke not to have abusive contact with anyone from the detention center.
Of the 10 original defendants in the case, seven have pleaded, according to court records. One defendant is scheduled for trial in August, charges were dismissed against another defendant involved in a plea deal, and there is an active warrant for the 10th man, according to court records and Burch.
Burch said during the Wednesday plea hearings that if the trial had proceeded, she would have called 10 deputies, including an investigator, to testify and would have had video. There were eight officials from the Washington County Sheriff's Office in the court gallery for the hearings.
The sheriff's office operates the detention center at 500 Western Maryland Parkway, along Hagerstown's western edge.
Burch, after the hearings, said no officers were hurt during the riot.
"Their safety is paramount. We will not tolerate this behavior in Washington County," she said.
The jail riot on a Saturday in July 2020
The riot at the detention center resulted in $8,422.75 of damage, according to court records. Among the items damaged were windows, cell doors and televisions.
The disturbance began about 3 p.m. on July 25, 2020, when inmates in one of the cell blocks refused to be locked in their cells for the end-of-shift headcount to make sure all inmates were accounted for and, instead, began damaging the cell block, according to charging documents.
It took about two hours to get the inmates under control and several more hours to assess the damage to detention center property, the document said.
When a sergeant asked why they were not cooperating, Lonon said the inmates had complaints about the food, visitation, sanitary conditions, deputies not wearing face masks and other issues, the document said.
The riot occurred during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inmates were again ordered to get in their cells, but about half of the cell block, known as A-Pod, refused. As staff attempted to lock in the cooperating inmates, the others interfered, according to the document.
Deputies exited A-Pod and all doors were secured, the document said. The detention center's emergency response team was called and eventually deployed tear gas into the pod, according to court documents and officials. In the interim, the riot included inmates forcing open a cell door to let at least one inmate out, damage to the control center windows and an attempt to start a fire using a damaged electrical outlet.
The other defendants who had plea deals are:
Juwan Campbell, 26, pleaded guilty on Feb. 14 to riot and was sentenced in Washington County District Court by Judge Mark D. Thomas to 1 year and a day.
Lauren Bradley Dixon, 32, of Hagerstown, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2021, to riot and was sentenced in circuit court by Judge Brett R. Wilson to 13 months.
Jose Orlando Gonzalez, 31, of York, Pa., pleaded guilty on March 15, 2022, to riot and was sentenced in district court by Thomas to 18 months.
Melvin Allen Matthews, 53, of Hagerstown, pleaded guilty on Oct. 18, 2021, to riot and was sentenced in circuit court by Wilson to 18 months.
Robert Joseph Wilson III, 36, of Hagerstown, pleaded guilty Oct. 20, 2021, to riot and was sentenced in district court by Judge Victoria J. Lobley to six months.
Some defendants' plea hearings and sentencings were held in circuit court because they had previously requested jury trials.
Some defendants faced malicious destruction of property charges with various amounts of damage, which could be a factor in sentencing. The damage charges were dropped as part of plea bargains. Another factor in sentencing is a defendant's prior criminal record.
Burch, in a phone interview, said charges in the riot case against Javonte Raasheed Hart, 22, of Hagerstown, were dismissed as part of a plea deal involving an unrelated case.
There is an active warrant for Brady Nunez, 25, of Bronx, N.Y., on misdemeanor charges of rioting and malicious destruction of property, according to his online court docket.
Nicholas Franklin Houman, 26, of Hagerstown, is scheduled for trial in August in district court on a charge of rioting, according to his online court docket.
Concerns expressed about detention center conditions
The judge heard concerns about the conditions at the detention center during the hearings.
Defense attorney Matthew Williamson, representing Burke on behalf of the public defender's office, said conditions at the detention center were "deplorable" at the time of the riot. The riot occurred during a time when "we didn't know" much about COVID-19 and inmates were concerned, scared and uncertain, he said.
As an attorney visiting the detention center to talk to his client, Williamson said he had difficulty hearing his client with three attorneys next to him shouting over each other to talk to their clients.
Williamson said the detention center is getting better.
Burke's complaints included cold food, the wash clothes and towels, and that he couldn't talk to a sergeant.
"You gotta do what was done to get ... anyone to understand what's going on," Burke said.
Boyer said he didn't accept that conditions were as "deplorable as described" and told Burke that the way to avoid conditions at the detention center was to "not be awaiting trial." There's no justification for a riot, Boyer said.
Defense attorney Laura Guadalupe Morton, representing Lonon on behalf of the public defender's office, said there was no visitation at the time of the riot. Morton said inmates felt "extremely isolated" and that they weren't being heard "with respect to the situation."
She said Lonon "very much regrets" how the incident "played out."
Lonon said he tried to tell inmates there was a "better way to do it" and to wait to speak to someone.
Washington County Detention Center warden reacts
Major Craig Rowe, warden of the detention center, said in a phone interview after the hearings that there is an inmate request and grievance process. Rowe said, to his knowledge, none of the inmates involved in the riot filed grievances.
Rowe said visitation wasn't allowed at the detention center at that time because Gov. Larry Hogan had ordered everything shut down due to the pandemic. The detention center applied for and received a grant to provide remote video visitation, but that system didn't go live until November 2020, before Thanksgiving.
If any detention center employees were not wearing masks — as ordered by then-Sheriff Doug Mullendore at the time, "it wasn't brought to our attention," Rowe said.
Regarding cold food, Rowe said there were some issues with some of the carts and, since then, heated carts were purchased so the food stays warm until it's delivered. The jail has a food service contractor.
The Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards audits the detention center every three years and food was never an issue the detention center failed, he said.
Inmates receive linens, including a towel and wash cloth, when they arrive. Rowe said they aren't new, but they have been washed.
"Honestly, the inmates complain. It's just the nature of what we deal with," Rowe said.
Regarding the areas where attorneys and clients meet, Rowe said maintenance replaces the battery in the electronic microphone and speaker system when it starts to echo. That meeting area has been that way since central booking was opened over a decade ago, he said.
A multiphase project to renovate the detention center is in the planning process, Rowe said. It includes more attorney rooms for visitation.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: More defendants plea in 2020 Washington County Detention Center riot
