3 days, 2 beatings, 1 killing: Inside the Indianapolis jail where a man was killed
INDIANAPOLIS – Someone in cell block 2F at the Marion County Jail pushed the emergency call button. When the deputy replied, asking what the emergency was, no one answered. They didn't need to.
The deputy could hear the screaming in the background.
She entered the cell block and found a man lying on the floor, bleeding from the head. His lip was cut; his forehead, cheeks and mouth swelling. Several of his front teeth were missing.
The man was taken to a local hospital and treated. By the next day, he was back in the jail.
Related story: 5 Georgia officers fired, one on probation, after man's hanging death in police custody
Two days later, on Oct. 10, 2020, another man was beaten in the same cell block and taken to the same hospital. But unlike the man days prior, 38-year-old Martin Cruz died from the extensive injuries sustained in what's described in court records as a brutal, organized attack.
Eight men from cell block 2F are now charged in connection with Cruz's death, and for some of them, it's not the first time they've been implicated in a jailhouse attack.
Cruz and the other man had something else in common. They were, according to court records, targeted because of the child molesting charges that sent them to the Marion County Jail. Cruz denied the allegations and was awaiting trial. The surviving man's case remains pending.
Seven days after Cruz died, another man was killed in an assault in a different part of the jail. James L. Smith, 51, was being held in a single cell on an intimidation charge. No charges have been filed in connection with his death.
A history of alleged violence
Cell block 2F is described in court records as a "community-style" general population cell with "numerous sets of bunk beds." It has a day room with tables, TVs, bathrooms and showers. The people housed there are free to move around the space.
At the time of Cruz's death, there were about 30 people in the cell, court records show. At least five of them were there on pending murder charges: Gamron Tedford, Jaylen Ryle, Lasean Watkins, Delance Hatcher and Jeremy Satisfield.
Jan. 6 insurrection suspect: Capitol riot suspect's history of beating and allegedly raping women keeps him in jail
Insurrection on US Capitol: Former GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher says he attended Jan. 6 protests before US Capitol riot
Those men and three others — Kavon Donaldson, Clayton Hagan and David Sparks — are now charged in Cruz's death. Satisfield is charged with aggravated battery and the rest are charged with murder.
Hatcher and Watkins are also charged in the Oct. 7 assault that injured a detainee in cell block 2F, and Ryle is charged in an Aug. 11 assault that injured a detainee in a different block.
And while investigating Cruz's death, police learned he had been attacked in a different cell on Aug. 8, allegedly by one of the suspects now charged in his death. A deputy at the time noted severe bruising on Cruz's face, and blood coming from his ear.
The series of assaults raises questions about how detainees are housed and what happens when they're accused of violence inside the jail.
According to jail policies, detainees are to be classified and separated into groups "that reduce the possibility of assault and disruptive behavior." Each detainee is evaluated based on their criminal and disciplinary history, current charges, any medical conditions and other special factors. They are then assigned a security level ranging from 1-8, with 1 considered the highest security level.
That security level determines where an person is housed. General population areas like cell block 2F can house those with security levels between 3 and 5, though there can be exceptions.
When an detainee is accused in an incident inside the jail, staff must review their classification and determine if new housing is warranted. Detainees found to have assaulted someone in the jail can be subject to up to 30 days of segregation.
'It's about to go down'
About 7 p.m. Oct. 10, 2020, the men in cell block 2F started getting their dinner. At 7:22 p.m., Cruz entered the block, transferred there after being in quarantine for COVID-19 exposure.
A detainee, who would later tell police what he saw, said he was on the phone with his wife when someone said, "it's about to go down."
"He's a child molester, so it's time to get it in," the person reportedly said, referring to Cruz.
Improper maintenance of Breathalyzer: Massachusetts prosecutors halt use of Breathalyzer results after issues raised again
Another witness told police one of the detainees bragged that they had previously "jumped" Cruz and "stuck a broomstick in his (expletive)." IndyStar, a part of the Paste BN Network, isn't naming that detainee because there's some confusion in court records as to who allegedly said it. The witness said Cruz recognized the detainee and "appeared to be afraid of him."
Witnesses described the men wrapping their hands with torn sheets as one person stood near a window to be "the lookout." When a man tried to pull Cruz off of his bunk, someone stopped him — they didn't want to disturb Tedford's video visit.
"The moment the visit was over," court records say, two detainees pulled Cruz off his bed "and started punching him and stomping him." Within seconds, according to court records, more detainees jumped in. When Cruz screamed for help, one of the attackers reportedly grabbed a towel to gag him.
One detainee tried to intervene but was told to shut up "or you'll get it too," according to court records.
Witnesses said the group eventually dragged Cruz over to a toilet where he was "hog-tied." Detainees shoved his head in the toilet and poured bleach on him, they said. Another allegedly beat him with a food tray.
One witness estimated the beating lasted two hours, another said an hour.
At one point a guard walked by and missed seeing Cruz who was lying in the middle of the floor. (The witness) stated it was the same guard who had brought Cruz into the cell block.
One witness checked Cruz's pulse and told the cell block he was dead, but "nobody said anything." Afterward, the witness said, some of the detainees were "yelling and threatening to fight anybody."
By 10 p.m., more than two-and-half hours after Cruz entered the cell, the jail's second shift was leaving and the third shift was clocking into work. About 20 minutes later, during a routine check, a deputy noticed Cruz on the floor. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead at 11:24 p.m.
An autopsy revealed Cruz sustained at least 18 injuries to the head, a dislocated neck, 14 injuries to his thorax, fractured ribs, lacerations and more. The preliminary cause of death was listed as "multiple blunt force traumatic injuries."
'Signs of unusual activities'
For roughly eight months, little was publicly known about how Cruz was killed inside a secured government facility staffed with corrections officers. During that time, officials declined many of IndyStar's requests for more information, citing pending investigations.
Then on June 4, charges were filed, revealing much of what was alleged to have happened. But questions remain, and officials are declining to speak specifically about the incident.
It's unknown how the alleged beating went unnoticed, or how a corrections officer didn't see Cruz lying on the floor the first time. It's also unknown the last time an officer saw Cruz alive.
The in-custody jail report provided by the jail lists the last face-to-face contact between Cruz and staff at 10:20 p.m. — the same time he was found dead.
According to jail policies, staff must check on general population units at least once every 60 minutes. Regular checks are "to conduct visual contact and physical interaction with each inmate/detainee," the policy reads.
"Staff shall be alert to inmate/detainee behavior and other signs of unusual activities."
Deputies must also ensure each person's head is visible to the deputy doing the check. If a person's wellbeing is in question, the deputy must interact with that detainee.
After Cruz's death, the sheriff's office conducted an internal investigation. On June 11, two deputies were notified to be in violation of a rule that states they must "perform their duty in a manner which shall maintain satisfactory standards of efficiency while carrying out the objectives of the Department."
Sheriff's office spokesperson Capt. Mitch Gore told IndyStar it was determined the deputies "didn’t inform their supervisors of their inability to strictly adhere to required inmate wellness check intervals."
The deputies received written warnings to go in their personnel files.
The department declined to answer questions as to how the assault happened or what it's doing to prevent future assaults, citing pending litigation. IndyStar found no record of lawsuits involving Cruz's death.
Gore did note that as of Oct. 17, seven days after Cruz's death, the jail started allowing detainees accused of sex crimes involving children to request to be housed with detainees with similar charges "if they believe it is in the best interest of their safety." As of June 11, around 70 detainees were exercising that option, but "many are not," Gore said.
Sheriff Kerry Forestal provided a statement applauding the sheriff's criminal division, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the Marion County Prosecutor's Office for a "thorough investigation" into Cruz's death.
"Factors including the pandemic have resulted in the Marion County Jail housing an extraordinary number of detainees charged with murder, over 180 in total," Forestal continued. "We look forward to the opening of the new Adult Detention Center in January and believe that with modern correctional architecture and cutting-edge technology, violence in the jail should be reduced."
The new detention center is slated to open in January 2022 as part of the city's new, multi-million dollar Criminal Justice Campus, meant to alleviate outdated facilities in the City-County Building downtown and overcrowded jails.
"In the interim, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to keeping both detainees and staff safe from harm," Forestal said in the statement.
Follow Elizabeth DePompei on Twitter: @edepompei.