A fourth corrections officer charged with murder in the fatal beating of a prison inmate was arrested in Florida on Friday, authorities said.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle identified the officer as Jeremy Godbolt, 29.
Godbolt and three other officers were charged with second-degree murder, conspiracy, aggravated battery on an elderly person and other crimes, Rundle said.
The other officers were identified Thursday as Christopher Rolon, 29; Kirk Walton, 34; and Ronald Connor, 24.
Rundle identified the inmate as Ronald Gene Ingram, a 60-year-old man with a mental illness who was serving a life term for first-degree murder.
Additional details about Ingram’s illness weren’t immediately available.
Authorities have said he was being transferred from the mental health unit at Dade Correctional Institution on Feb. 22 when he threw urine on an officer.
The officers allegedly responded with a beating so severe Ingram had to be carried to a van that was taking him to a different prison.
Ingram, who authorities described as compliant and in handcuffs during the assault, died en route, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which investigated the incident.
In a statement Thursday, Rundle described the death as “back alley justice” and said that Ingram may have lost his freedom but not his “basic rights.”
The three officers arrested Thursday appeared in court Friday and were denied bond, NBC Miami reported.
Edward Martinez, a lawyer for Rolon, said that he hadn’t yet seen an arrest warrant or an affidavit detailing the alleged crimes.
“These charges seem really bad and they are bad, but Mr. Rolon enjoys a privilege that every single American has and I hope that everyone will understand that, that up until now he is innocent until the state can prove this beyond a reasonable doubt,” he said, according to NBC Miami.
A lawyer for Walton, David Donet, added that the alleged crimes are “mere allegations” and “he’s as innocent as anybody until the state can prove those those charges against him.”
It wasn’t immediately clear if Godbolt or Connor have lawyers to speak on their behalf.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
