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| Charges Against Arizona Officer in Death of Inmate May Be Dropped |
| By Tucson Citizen |
| Published: 10/11/2002 |
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Prosecutors say they likely will drop charges against one of two Pima County Jail officers accused of negligent homicide in the beating death of an inmate. Don Guarriello, who was indicted in May on one count of negligent homicide, will seek to reclaim his job with the Sheriff's Department if prosecutors exonerate him, attorneys said. 'It's probably 99 percent that we'll dismiss on Mr. Guarriello,' prosecutor Catherine Hughes said during a hearing yesterday in Pima County Superior Court. Hughes, a Maricopa County prosecutor appointed after the Pima County Attorney's Office claimed a conflict and opted out of the case, did not say why she may drop the charges. Hughes refused interview requests yesterday. Guarriello's attorney, Michael A. Harwin, said prosecutors may not have enough evidence against his client. 'The county attorney has been contemplating dismissing the charges against Mr. Guarriello because of a lack of sufficient evidence,' Harwin said. 'Ms. Hughes and her office have thoroughly reviewed this case, and I feel confident that justice will be done here.' Harwin said Guarriello, who spent four years with the Sheriff's Department as a corrections officer, has filed an appeal of his termination. Guarriello and another jail officer, John Lee Tollett, were charged in the death of a 41-year-old inmate who suffered three broken ribs and a ruptured spleen in a beating at the jail. The inmate, Douglas J. Carter, died at Kino Community Hospital on Jan. 17, three days after the assault. Guarriello and Tollett were fired in June after authorities determined they lied to investigators about the incident and also because of the criminal charges filed against them. |
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