St. Mary Corwin and 4 security guards sued for wrongful death of Pueblo man in 2021

The family of Mathew Haskel Jones has launched a civil lawsuit alleging wrongful death at the hands of St. Mary Corwin Hospital security guards.

Jones died several days after an altercation with four security guards at St. Mary Corwin on the morning of Feb. 10, 2021, when Jones allegedly refused to leave the hospital waiting room due to cold weather while waiting for a ride after receiving care.

A lawsuit filed by Mathew's widow, Dedra Jones, against Centura St. Mary Corwin owner Catholic Health Initiatives Colorado as well as the four security guards involved in Jones' death, alleges that the four security guards — Anthony Virant, Randy Vialpondo, Anthony Ruff, and Drake Castro — knowingly acted with "reckless disregard" toward the safety and health of Mathew Jones by applying use of force, including an extended neck restraint.

The lawsuit also alleges that CHIC interfered with a criminal investigation into Jones's death, including allegedly falsifying medical records, withholding information from law enforcement and misrepresenting facts of the case to investigators, misrepresenting the incident to Jones' wife, and intimidating witnesses employed by the hospital with threats of termination should they speak out about the case.

CHIC, the lawsuit claims, created a "dangerous condition" on the premises by failing to "properly instruct, train, educate, and supervise employees, including Ruff, Virant, Vialpondo and Castro, concerning use of force and physical restraint" that could reasonably cause harm to others.

Video released by the Jones family and its attorneys Wednesday shows security guards speaking with Jones for 25 minutes in the lobby of the hospital before physically confronting Jones, who can be seen wearing shorts and a T-shirt, and attempting to shove him out the door before Jones falls to the ground.

The footage shows the four security guards struggle with Jones briefly before tackling him to the ground, getting him facedown on the floor with one holding his arm, another his legs, one on top of his lower back, and one — identified in a police affidavit as Virant — laying across his upper back with an arm that appears to be pinning down Jones' neck and the back of his head.

The footage shows the struggle continuing for several minutes before a nurse approaches the four and appears to take Jones' pulse. The nurse, Betty Webber, allegedly told the guards, "this looks a lot like the George Floyd incident and we all know how that turned out," according to the affidavit.

The approximately 35-minute video released by the family's attorneys Wednesday and showing the altercation can be found here.

"The tactics used against Mr. Jones, including deadly carotid chokeholds and restraints, have been banned by the majority of police forces across the country — that is to say, law enforcement officials are not allowed to use these types of tactics against bank robbers, violent and armed criminals, yet these guards choked out a patient in the hospital lobby simply waiting for a ride home," said Jason Jordan, an attorney representing Dedra Jones, in a press conference Wednesday morning outside St. Mary Corwin.

Jordan alleged that St. Mary Corwin lied to Colorado Springs Penrose Hospital, where Mathew Jones was taken for treatment following the incident, as well as investigators and family members. He called their alleged behavior "clear obstruction of justice."

"Although hospital administrators may have interfered with the criminal prosecution in this case, we refuse to let them interfere with the pursuit of civil justice for Matt, Dedra and their family."

Dedra Jones told gathered press that St. Mary Corwin told her that Mathew had "become agitated and coded, hitting the ground hard," and failed to mention any altercation with security guards or the use of force against her husband, and did not tell Penrose Hospital about the altercation.

It wasn't until six days later that she found out about the altercation, she said, when she called to find out where her husband's belongings were and was told they were in police evidence and that if Mathew Jones died, there would be an investigation into his death.

"They are all liars," she said. "Mathew is deeply missed every day. The pride he took in raising our daughter is a memory I will cherish forever. Every year, at Thanksgiving, Mathew would give grace before dinner. Last week, as families everywhere celebrated, we had an empty seat at our table and his absence was felt as we tried to say grace without him. ... Mathew went to the hospital for foot pain, he didn't go there to be murdered," she said.

The lawsuit was filed in Arapahoe County, where CHIC is based. “We look forward to a jury determining damages, and we expect them to deliver a verdict that may exceed $100 million,” said Jordan.

The four guards were previously charged with negligent homicide, but the charges were later dropped by 10th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Chostner.

"It was dismissed because additional information was revealed through continuing investigation of the matter, a previously undiscovered witness was disclosed and nuances in the pathologist report indicated that the evidence in the case was not sufficient, in my opinion, to sustain a conviction," Chostner told the Chieftain in August.

Jordan stated the dropping of criminal charges will not impact civil proceedings at all.

"There's a different burden of proof, there's a different standard — there's many reasons why that sort of thing happens and it doesn't even come into play in a civil case," he said.

Lindsay Radford, a spokesperson for Centura Health, declined to comment on the pending litigation.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Mathew Haskel Jones," Centura said in a statement. "Protecting patient and associate privacy is a value deeply rooted in our organization and as such, and due to patient privacy laws, we are not able to comment further on the circumstances surrounding this event or on any pending litigation."

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: St. Mary Corwin, security guards sued in wrongful death case