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| Inmates' families to sue jail, sheriff |
| By Florida Today |
| Published: 04/26/2004 |
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The families of two inmates who apparently committed suicide at the Brevard County (Fla.) Detention Center in Sharpes are preparing to file lawsuits against jail officials and Sheriff Phil Williams. The two inmates, Carl Ashley and Kendall Rolle, are cousins. Both died after apparently hanging themselves. A total of five inmates have died in apparent suicides at the jail since December. Ashley, 24, died Jan. 13, and Rolle, 17, died Feb. 2. The two had been arrested in December on charges of stealing guns, jewelry and cameras from a pawnshop in Titusville. Official notifications to file the lawsuits were recorded with the county attorney's office by Paul Bross of Merritt Island, a lawyer representing both families. In the notifications, which were filed last month, Bross said the families intended to seek undetermined settlements "for false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution." The lawyer said both inmates were on suicide watches at the time of their deaths. Bross last Wednesday was unavailable for comment. Cmdr. Jimmy Donn, who is responsible for coordinating legal matters for the Sheriff's Office, said last Wednesday that such lawsuits are referred to the Florida Sheriff's Self-Insurance Fund, which insures sheriff's offices across the state. No other lawyers have informed the county of pending lawsuits in the other three cases, Donn said. The other inmates who died were Anthony Fernandez, 24, on Dec. 20; John Harrison Brown, 38, on Feb. 23; and 31-year-old William Gamez on March 21. Seeking more information about the deaths of all five men, Williams reopened investigations into their cases during the past few weeks. In the Gamez death, investigators are seeking to determine whether corrections officers were not paying enough attention to their jobs because of a staff barbecue taking place on the jail grounds that day. |
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