Lawyers For 2 Deputies Accused Of Inmate Mistreatment At Santa Rita Jail Want Cases Separated

DUBLIN, CA — Attorneys for two of the four current and former Alameda County sheriff's deputies who are charged with mistreating inmates at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin said today that they want their cases separated from the cases of the other two deputies.

Collectively, current deputies Justin Linn, 23, of Tracy, Erik McDermott, 27, of Concord, Sarah Krause, 26, and former deputy Stephen Sarcos, 30, of Concord are charged with felony assault, conspiracy to obstruct justice and dissuading a witness.

Prosecutors allege that the four deputies facilitated and allowed an inmate to throw bodily fluids, including feces and urine, onto other inmates housed in a maximum-security unit at Santa Rita. Attorneys for Krause and Sarcos, who face only one count each, said they want their cases severed from those of Linn and McDermott, who faces multiple counts.

• Teens Suspected Of Robbing Dublin 7-Eleven Arrested

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Yolanda Northridge said she will consider the defense motion when the four deputies, who are all free on bail, return to court on Oct. 20. Linn is charged with four counts of felony assault by a public officer, one count of dissuading a witness by force a threat and one count of
conspiracy to obstruct justice. His bail is $340,000.

McDermott is charged with two counts of assault and one count each of dissuading a witness and conspiracy. His bail is $320,000. Krause and Sarcos are each charged with single counts of assault for a single incident in the fall of 2016. Their bail is $35,000.

According to sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly, Krause, Linn and McDermott have been placed on administrative leave and Sarcos has resigned. Sheriff's officials said staff at Santa Rita brought the
allegations of misconduct to their attention in January and they conducted an investigation that focused on incidents at the jail between the summer and fall of 2016.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley said in announcing the charges last week, "These four deputies directed, facilitated, enabled and committed sadistic and terrorizing acts against several men whose
protection fell directly within the responsibility of their positions as correctional officers."

O'Malley said, "The conduct of these four defendants violates the law and there is no rational explanation for their actions aside from abject cruelty and a disregard for the humanity of the inmates."

O'Malley said the investigation in the case revealed that McDermott choked an inmate into unconsciousness. Sheriff's Detective Patrick Smyth wrote in a probable cause declaration that one of the victim inmates suffers from mental illness.

Court officials appear to be giving special treatment to the four deputies, since at their two court appearances their case was called first, ahead of dozens of other defendants.

Sheriff's deputies also ordered a newspaper camerawoman and a television cameraman to leave the hallway outside of the courtroom where the deputies had their hearing today so that they couldn't film the deputies.

By Bay City News

Photo via Shutterstock