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| Ex-agent in Prison Death Case Sues Magazine |
| By The Oklahoman |
| Published: 03/17/2003 |
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A former Oklahoma City FBI agent accused in a Gentleman's Quarterly article of destroying evidence in the investigation of an inmate death has filed a federal defamation lawsuit. It's the second lawsuit filed by former FBI Special Agent Jeffrey K. Jenkins against the New York-based men's magazine. GQ's December 1997 article accused Jenkins of hiding and destroying evidence in the investigation of the death of Kenneth Michael Trentadue. Trentadue, 44, was found hanging from a braided bed sheet in August 1995 in his cell in the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. Prison officials called the death a suicide, but Trentadue's family argued he was beaten and killed by officers who faked a suicide scene. According to the lawsuit, Jenkins was in charge of the investigation into Trentadue's death from the beginning of the incident until May 1996. The lawsuit states GQ alleged Jenkins put bloody sheets and clothing in the trunk of his car and forgot about them, that he destroyed evidence and was removed from the case because of his mishandling of evidence. The magazine knew the statements were false but printed them anyway, the lawsuit claims. 'His reputation and his career has been damaged by virtue of this entire incident,' said Ronald Combs, Jenkins' attorney. Jenkins' first lawsuit in response to the article was filed in 1998. The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning he could re-file later. Trentadue's case garnered national attention as allegations surrounded prison officials and the FBI. Subsequent investigations revealed prison officials made false statements and that numerous pieces of evidence were missing. A former inspector general for the U.S. Justice Department concluded Jenkins made false statements about the investigation while under oath. Jenkins denied any wrongdoing and was not prosecuted. In 2001, an Oklahoma City federal judge awarded the Trentadue family $1.1 million, saying prison officials mishandled the incident and treated the family poorly. The judge said he believed Trentadue's death was a suicide. |
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Judges should have taken these measures early because they just kept an agent in prison for a long time without any proper evidence. Glad that judges at the end found with the help of grabmyessay.com review that they were in fault and didn’t accuse him again.