New Rochelle Man, 49, Guilty in Connection with Rikers Island Death

Former Rikers Island prison guard Anthoney Torres, 49, of New Rochelle, recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy and filing a false report charges in connection with the 2012 death of inmate Ronald Spear, announced United States Attorney Preet Bharara.

Torres participated in the beating of Spear, and subsequent cover-up, with fellow guards Brian Coll and Byron Taylor, according to Bharara, and is now potentially facing decades behind bars.

“Today, we announce more sad news out of Rikers Island. Specifically, we unseal charges against three correction officers alleging a killing and a cover-up,” said Bharara in a statement. “Both relate to the untimely death of Ronald Spear, a Rikers Island inmate who died in the early morning hours of December 19, 2012, after receiving a brutal beating. As I have said before, Rikers inmates, although walled off from the rest of society, are not walled off from the protections of our Constitution.”

Spear, who often walked with a cane, was suffering from end-stage renal disease, which required him to receive dialysis treatments. He also wore a bracelet indicating that he was at “Risk of Fall.”

On the morning of incident, Spear was seeking medical treatment but was denied initially by Coll, who got into a scuffle with Spear. Taylor and Torres joined the fray and restrained Spear.

According to Bharara:

While Mr. Spear was lying prone on the ground and was still restrained, COLL repeatedly kicked Spear in the head, even after TORRES attempted to shield the inmate’s head with his hand and shouted to COLL to stop. After COLL stopped kicking Mr. Spear, COLL lifted Mr. Spear’s head up, told him in substance not to forget who had done this to him, and then dropped Spear’s head to the ground. Mr. Spear was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the assault.

Spear’s autopsy was conducted at the Bronx Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The autopsy revealed that Spear had three recent contusions on his head. At least two of those contusions were what the Medical Examiner described as “above the hat line,” and were thus inconsistent with being sustained as part of a fall. One of the contusions involved what the Medical Examiner described as a “brain bleed” caused by the blunt force of the impact. The Medical Examiner confirmed that the placement of Spear’s head injuries was consistent with Spear being kicked in the head while he was lying prone on the ground.

After Spear’s death, COLL, TAYLOR, TORRES, and others covered up the true cause of Mr. Spear’s death by concocting a false story that turned Mr. Spear into the aggressor. Specifically, COLL falsely claimed that Mr. Spear had attacked him with a cane, and TORRES and an additional correction officer referred to in the Complaint as CW-1 agreed to support this false version of events and not to tell investigators of evidence that COLL had repeatedly kicked Mr. Spear in the head. Additionally – at the request of TAYLOR – COLL, TORRES, and CW-1 agreed to falsely claim that TAYLOR was not present for the incident. Consistent with their agreement, the conspirators filed false use of force reports with the Department of Correction and lied repeatedly to Department of Correction investigators, to the Bronx District Attorney, and, in TAYLOR’s case, to a federal grand jury.

The conspirators propagated this false version of events after being repeatedly advised by a Rikers captain and by representatives of the correction officers’ union to be “consistent” in the use of force reports the officers were required to submit following Spear’s death. The first draft of a use of force report by CW-1 was rejected by a captain because it did not match the version of events contained in reports by COLL and TORRES, and CW-1 was required to submit a revised report that was “consistent.” Additionally, when no cane was recovered from the crime scene – potentially calling into doubt COLL’s claim that Mr. Spear had attacked him with a cane – a Rikers captain simply directed a correction officer to take a cane from the supply area and pass it off to investigators as the cane used in the incident.

In his guilty plea yesterday before the Honorable Chief Judge Loretta A. Preska to obstruction of justice offenses, TORRES admitted that he had conspired with others to cover up the facts surrounding the death of Mr. Spear. TORRES was not charged with violating the civil rights of Mr. Spear and at one point sought to shield Mr. Spear from the attack.

“The vast majority of law enforcement officials serve their communities with honor and integrity. But when an officer’s conduct exceeds the permissible use of force and violates a person’s civil rights, the foundation of our democracy is threatened,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Diego Rodriguez in a statement. “Today, we hear the call of Spear and other victims whose constitutionally protected rights have been abused and violated. We remember their collective plea for justice. And we vow never to forget our obligation to remove from the criminal justice system those who do not uphold the tenets of the legal system.”

Coll, 45, of Smithtown, is charged with: one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, one count of obstruction of justice, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, one count of filing false forms, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to file false forms, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Taylor, 31, of Brentwood, is charged with: one count of obstruction of justice by lying to a federal grand jury, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to file false forms, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

As mentioned earlier, Torres pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice and file false reports, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and one count of filing a false report, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights and Public Corruption Units. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brooke E. Cucinella and Jeannette A. Vargas are in charge of the prosecution.