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Inmate Says Ex-Deputy Abused Her In January
Image provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
A video showing a deputy tipping a disabled man out of his wheelchair during booking has led to several more complaints leveled against the Hillsborough County jail staff.
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Published: February 21, 2008
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TAMPA - News of two more complaints about incidents of abuse at Orient Road Jail emerged Wednesday.
The complaints follow the release of a video last week showing a detention deputy dropping a quadriplegic man from his wheelchair at the jail.
•On Wednesday, a woman claimed Charlette Marshall-Jones abused her at the jail last month. Marshall-Jones is the same deputy charged with a felony in the wheelchair incident.
•Also Wednesday, a woman complained that a male detention deputy broke her left arm in May.
•On Friday, another woman had filed a federal lawsuit claiming a detention deputy pulled her by the hair, slammed her to the ground and punched her.
Although sheriff's officials have described the wheelchair incident as inexcusable, they have denied wrongdoing against the woman whose hair was pulled and against the woman whose arm was broken.
They have not responded publicly to the complaint from the woman who claims Marshall-Jones abused her in the bathroom but have acknowledged that an internal affairs investigation has begun.
Steve Yerrid, a longtime plaintiff's lawyer in Hillsborough County not currently affiliated with any actions against the sheriff's office, said he is not surprised that several people are making complaints against jail staff right now. When a negative incident gets publicity, it's not uncommon for similar complaints to arise, he said.
"The momentum right now is that anyone who has ever had a problem with law enforcement and is contemplating action is going to take action right now," Yerrid said.
That does not mean the complaints or lawsuits will have a greater chance of a successful outcome, he said.
"The bottom line is what is appropriate and what isn't appropriate has to happen on a case-by-case basis," Yerrid said. "Just because there is an avalanche of cases won't change the merit of each case."
In the wheelchair incident, Sheriff David Gee almost immediately condemned the deputy's actions.
"That's what you want to have," Yerrid said, "not absolute blanket denial every time."
The fact that Gee acknowledged sheriff's office responsibility for the complaint from quadriplegic Brian Sterner also gives weight to Gee's integrity when he denies abuse in other complaints, Yerrid said. A video recording surfaced last week showing Marshall-Jones raising the back of Sterner's wheelchair and spilling him to the floor in January. The deputy resigned Friday and was arrested Saturday on a charge of abuse of a disabled person. Sterner had been arrested on a warrant stemming from a traffic violation.
Bathroom Confrontation
Falkenburg Road Jail inmate Tammy Lynn Mojica told The Tampa Tribune during a phone call Wednesday that Marshall-Jones abused her in a jail bathroom Jan. 10.
Tammy Lynn Mojica
"She snatched me by the back of my head and slammed me into the wall," Mojica said.
Col. David Parrish, who runs the jail, would not discuss specifics and said video of Mojica being booked would not be made available since it is part of an active investigation.
"Any time we have an allegation of excessive use of force, it's going to be investigated," Parrish said.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said an internal affairs investigation is ongoing and she would not discuss the investigation or the incident.
Marshall-Jones' attorney, Norman Cannella, said he wasn't familiar with Mojica's complaint.
"I'm not going to bother to tell Marshall-Jones anything about this since I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about," he said.
After Mojica's Jan. 10 arrest, the state attorney's office filed charges of cocaine possession, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, said state attorney's spokeswoman Pam Bondi.
Mojica, 34, of Wimauma said she didn't want to discuss charges against her. She said the incident at the jail began when Marshall-Jones thought Mojica had eaten something and took her into a bathroom to search her, Mojica said.
As soon as Mojica entered the bathroom, Marshall-Jones attacked her, Mojica said.
"My right hand and wrist was bent backwards," Mojica said. "My thumb was dislocated. It's still bruised."
Charlette Marshall-Jones
A sheriff's office report states that Mojica tried to swallow some drugs. In a bathroom, Marshall-Jones tried to pull the substance out of Mojica's mouth, first with a bare hand then with a blue rubber glove. Another deputy tried to help and got a mixture of blood and saliva on his thumb, Marshall-Jones wrote in the report.
Reports state that cocaine residue was found on the blue glove.
The report doesn't indicate whether Mojica was injured or taken to a hospital. Mojica said she was taken to a hospital before being booked and later spent about a week in a jail infirmary.
"I don't know why she was so manhandling," Mojica said. "I shouldn't have had a busted lip. I shouldn't have been talked to like a dog."
A Broken Arm
The sheriff's office released a statement Wednesday acknowledging that another woman has alleged mistreatment at the jail. Charlana Irving, 28, has claimed a male deputy broke her arm.
On May 9, Irving was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and obstructing an officer. A video shows detention deputy Milton Fassett removing Irving from a cell after repeated attempts to calm her verbally failed, the sheriff's office statement says.
As Fassett tried to escort Irving from the cell, she pulled away.
"He used only the force necessary to secure her arm behind her back to gain compliance before he let her out of the cell," the sheriff's office statement said.
Irving was taken to the clinic after complaining about pain in her arm. When it was determined that her left arm was broken, it was placed in a sling. The sheriff's statement says it is not possible to tell whether the broken arm occurred before or after her altercation with the deputy.
Outside her apartment Wednesday, Irving declined to comment, saying her attorney told her not to. She would not identify her attorney.
Hair-Pulling Incident
A video of a 2006 incident shows detention Deputy Shanna Marsh speaking to Marcella Pourmoghani-Esfahani before pulling her by the arm. Pourmoghani-Esfahani pulled back and hung onto her seat, which the sheriff's office says amounts to resisting. The deputy reached for the woman's shoulder and sleeve and did not intentionally pull her by the hair, the sheriff's office has said. Marsh pulled Pourmoghani-Esfahani from her seat, put her on the ground and punched her.
The deputy's superiors reviewed the incident and cleared her of wrongdoing.
News Channel 8 reporter Jeff Patterson contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( Carlene ) on February 21, 2008 at 8:58 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Why do people wait to complain or accuse someone of mishandling them? Why not complain right then? Isn't it easier to prove? Now, makes you wonder who is telling the truth and who isn't.
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Posted by ( sick_out_it_all ) on February 21, 2008 at 9:05 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
So here we have a women that obviously is a junkie and can't help herself from stealing other peoples belongings. She gets booked into the jail an they suspect her of concealing drugs. The deputies notice she has just shoved something into her mouth that could be drugs and try to stop her from swallowing it. Wow, give the deputy a life saving award, she was looking out for the ladies best interest. Who knows if the women would've had more if she could've O.D. and died. Hell because of her stupid actions she caused another deputy to be exposed to her tainted blood. When this happens, deputies have to be placed on medication that makes them sick to hopefully ensure they don't contract something from these people. People get over yourselves and realize that this country is out of control. The criminals are running things because we are to easy on them, we let them control what happens. Lock them up and when they out if they don't get it, lock them up again and forget about them, they are a waste and a contaminate to our society!
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Posted by ( billyjoejenkins ) on February 21, 2008 at 9:06 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
<sarcasm>I can't believe a bunch of criminals would just lie about their guards treating them poorly. They certainly don't appear opportunistic in light of recent media attention.</sarcasm>
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Posted by ( lucky1 ) on February 21, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
These people were either drunk or high, they don't have any idea what was going on! Also, what did they think...that they were checking in to the Ritz-Carlton. They probably deserved the treatment they got IN JAIL!
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Posted by ( Teena ) on February 21, 2008 at 9:08 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Sounds like a Ricki Lake Show "Criminals and Jailers who love too hard".
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Posted by ( BoomBoom ) on February 21, 2008 at 9:19 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I fortunately paid the Orient Hilton a visit. Cause I wasn't High, Drunk and mostly had my little bail money with, took the seat I was told to. I am very intuitive, well not before my arrest that it was not a five star hotel. I give it a *.
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Posted by ( jat0831 ) on February 21, 2008 at 9:20 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
carlene..no need to wonder why people wait so long..they do fill out incident reports at the time but, until you have been there you really have no idea what goes on. I have first hand knowledge of an incident-incident taken, governor bush was written to and his reply was justice must take it course...WELL looks like it is all coming to light now and although you may be charged with a crime not all people are guilty and ALL people including the officers should be treated as humans..but put on a badge and you think you can do anything to people..
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Posted by ( petrie50 ) on February 21, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Ms Mojica is certainly a reliable individual and couldn't possibley fabricate a story...NOT! She has 5 arrest that include, welfare fraud, dealing in stolen property, grand theft motor vehicle, drugs, revoked D/L, cocaine possession. Also has been arrested in Manatee & Pasco. Seems like she is taking an opportunity to try to make a buck.
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Posted by ( NotPlayin ) on February 21, 2008 at 9:50 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by ( news_fan_pam ) on February 21, 2008 at 10 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
If you don't break the law, you don't go to jail. Don't go to jail, don't get abused by the officers.
As far as not filing a complaint immediately, that happens all the time. I used to work for a resort company and people would file law suits for incidents at the property that were never reported to the staff. Some would wait almost 4 years, which is the statute of limitations for that type of suit. The longer you wait to file, the foggier memories become, witnesses go away, records are misplaced, etc. Usually they are people looking for a nice pay off.
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Posted by ( 1madvet ) on February 21, 2008 at 10:13 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I bet there's already an 800# to call if you have been the victim of jail house abuse. 1-800-ASK-BAIL
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Posted by ( 1voice ) on February 21, 2008 at 10:34 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by ( Megs ) on February 21, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
news_fan_pam: There are cases of people that get arrested and the charges are dropped. So not everyone in jail broke the law.
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Posted by ( politicalmike ) on February 21, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
News fan, people that go to jail have no rights when it comes to abuse?
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Posted by ( news_fan_pam ) on February 21, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Of course they have rights. Clearly the staff are abusing their power and the detainees, which is wrong, but so is doing whatever it is that landed these folks in jail in the first place. I'm not defending the jail staff I'm just saying that if you live right, you shouldn't find yourself in this situation.
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Posted by ( ToeCutter ) on February 21, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I think the Scientologists are behind this.
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Posted by ( DarthManhandle ) on February 21, 2008 at 11:18 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Disorient Road is more like it
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Posted by ( gina1108 ) on February 21, 2008 at 11:29 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Wow, more proof that the dumping of a handicapped man was isolated, huh?
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Posted by ( dwbj ) on February 21, 2008 at 11:52 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Let's see looks like a pattern here...all the crack heads and Drunks that live off the governmet trying to get their sorry poor excuse for a human beings.... a free ride, I hope they go back to jail!!!
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Posted by ( eagle ) on February 21, 2008 at noon ( Suggest removal )
news_: as megs says, it isn't always that black and white..people have been arrested and not prosecuted..a person may end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and the police arrest and ask questions later
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Posted by ( eagle ) on February 21, 2008 at 12:02 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
toecutter-- LOL
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Posted by ( KM13 ) on February 21, 2008 at 12:23 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
OK this is just getting obnoxious now...
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Posted by ( sick_out_it_all ) on February 21, 2008 at 6:18 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Majority of these people coming to jail are repeat offenders! They know nothing else than to be a scum bag! They cetainly didn't give two craps when they were endangering everyone elses lives by driving drunk or high, they didnt care when they were stealing other peoples things, or molesting kids, so who cares about them! They go to jail act like a fool, try to fight the deputies, get their butts handed to them, they get upset.
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