Latest news with #tampering
CNN
15-05-2025
- CNN
New York prison guard says he cleaned up blood of fatally beaten inmate in plea
A New York corrections officer admitted in court Wednesday he cleaned up blood from the fatal beating of an inmate that was captured on bodycam videos in an attempt to conceal evidence. Nicholas Gentile pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted tampering with physical evidence in the Dec. 9 beating of Robert Brooks at the Marcy Correctional Facility. Publicly released video of the assault, which shows officers beating Brooks while his hands were cuffed behind his back, sparked condemnation and calls for reforms. Gentile, 36, was among 10 guards indicted in February in connection with Brooks' death. Six officers were charged with second-degree murder. Gentile was indicted on a felony charge of tampering with physical evidence. Under questioning from the judge and a prosecutor, Gentile acknowledged he knew about the assault by fellow guards, cleaned up Brooks' blood and failed to document it. Under a plea agreement, Gentile was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge, meaning he can avoid prison time if he resigns his job and obeys the law. He also waived his right to appeal. He declined to make a statement in court. One former officer charged with murder in the assault, Christopher Walrath, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter earlier this month. Three other prison workers have reached agreements but had yet to enter those pleas, according to prosecutors. Brooks began serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault in 2017 and was transferred Dec. 9 to Marcy, a prison about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of New York City. Special prosecutor William Fitzpatrick has said Brooks was beaten three times that night, the last of which was the fatal attack caught on bodycam footage. Brooks, 43, was declared dead the next day. Fitzpatrick, the Onondaga County district attorney, also is prosecuting guards in the fatal beating of Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at another Marcy lockup, the Mid-State Correctional Facility.
CBS News
09-05-2025
- CBS News
Michigan emergency room nurse admits tampering with vials of fentanyl
Siblings charged in deadly Foot Locker shooting, road closures in Metro Detroit and more top stories Siblings charged in deadly Foot Locker shooting, road closures in Metro Detroit and more top stories Siblings charged in deadly Foot Locker shooting, road closures in Metro Detroit and more top stories A former Metro Detroit emergency room nurse has pleaded guilty to tampering with vials of fentanyl, federal prosecutors said. Travis Eskridge, 53, of Grosse Pointe Park, was charged in February with three counts of tampering with a consumer product, one count of theft of medical products by an employee and one count of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. Officials say Eskridge worked as a registered nurse in the emergency room at Ascension St. John Hospital before he was removed from his position in August 2022 when tampering and theft of the vials were discovered. Eskridge admitted that he removed fentanyl from vials, replaced the fentanyl with another liquid and then returned the vials to a locked drug storage system. Prosecutors say Eskridge also admitted to stealing fentanyl vials over a nine-month period. "Patients rely on receiving the proper FDA-approved medications from those entrusted with their medical care," said Special Agent in Charge Ronne Malham, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Chicago Field Office. "We must hold medical personnel accountable when they take advantage of their unique position and tamper with medications their patients need." Eskridge's bond was continued under conditions that include him not seeking employment as a nurse. Eskridge could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to 5 years of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11. The case was investigated by special agents with the Food and Drug Administration.
