Corrections Officer From Nutley Indicted In NJ Prison Beating Scandal

NUTLEY, NJ — A Nutley resident was one of 14 former corrections officers indicted earlier this week in connection with allegations involving the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Hunterdon County.

According to the New Jersey attorney general’s office, inmates at the prison were forcibly removed from cells and some were beaten, leaving two of the victims severely injured. Read More: 14 Ex-Officers Indicted In NJ Women's Prison Inmate Beating, Coverup

Luis A. Garcia, 25, of Nutley, was among the defendants indicted by a state grand jury on charges of conspiracy, official misconduct, tampering with public records and aggravated assault.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt; the defendants will face further court proceedings.

State prosecutors released the following statement about the allegations against Garcia and the other ex-corrections officers:

“Investigators say the incidents happened during the overnight hours between January 11 and January 12, 2021, at the facility in Union Township, in Hunterdon County, amid escalating tensions after several incidents of inmates squirting unknown liquids through their cell doors, striking officers. Cells belonging to inmates suspected of being involved in those ‘splashing’ incidents were targeted, in an action the NJ Department of Corrections refers to as inmate extraction. According to DOC policy, extraction should be resorted to only after inmates refuse orders to put on handcuffs and leave their cells on their own, or if they pose a threat to themselves or others and refuse to exit a cell.”

Authorities continued:

“In this case, prosecutors say, the officers planned to go into the cells and use force regardless of whether any resistance was encountered, and in some instances did not give the targeted inmates an opportunity to comply with orders to put on handcuffs and exit their cells without incident. In other incidents the inmates complied with orders to be handcuffed and yet were extracted by force from their cells anyway. One inmate was punched almost 30 times by one officer while being extracted by a five-person team, despite no apparent provocation or physical resistance from her, the investigation found. Other officers restrained the victim while the assault was happening, at times grabbing her hair or shoving her. She was taken to a hospital suffering from headaches, nausea, and vomiting, and doctors found she had a concussion. Another victim, after her extraction despite the fact that she had complied with orders to be handcuffed, was covered with blood and her right eye was swollen shut. She was transported to Hunterdon Medical Center where doctors discovered her skull was broken around her eye. Boot marks were also discovered on her body.”

The indictment alleges that the officers planned, supervised, participated in, or failed to stop one or more forced cell extractions on the Restorative Housing Unit tier with the purpose of “punishing, intimidating or terrorizing one or more inmates.”

The officers are also accused of facilitating, failing to intervene in and failing to report the assaults, as is their duty as law enforcement officers.

“Investigators allege that internal reports generated about the incidents were false or misleading in an attempt to conceal the brutality and what led up to it,” prosecutors said.

Others indicted on Tuesday include:

• Sean St. Paul, 56, of Newark
• Ryan Valentin, 44, of Bloomfield
• Eddie Molina, 44, of East Brunswick
• Amir E. Bethea, 37, of Springfield
• Andraia Bridges, 45, of North Plainfield
• Anthony J. Valvano, 40, of Bound Brook
• Brandon Burgos, 22, of Roseland
• Courey James, 33, of East Piscataway
• Jose Irizarry, 38, of Paterson
• Desiree Lewis, 33, of Elizabeth
• Gustavo Sarmiento, 29, of Maywood
• Marika Sprow, 33, of West Orange
• Tara Wallace, 37, of Somerset

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