New York prison guard says he cleaned up blood of fatally beaten inmate in plea

UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York corrections officer admitted in court Wednesday that he cleaned up bloodstains from an inmate whose fatal beating 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.