Two charged with tampering in case of jail inmate who died

Two Harris County Jail workers were indicted on Friday afternoon over allegations that they tampered with a government record after an inmate died in custody.

Pius Ikuopenikan and Jane Emeharole were indicted about 4 p.m. by a grand jury, said Harris County District Attorney's Office spokesman Jeff McShan.

Ikuopenikan was a psychiatric technician at the jail, and Emeharole was a registered nurse, according to Harris County Sheriff's spokesman Ryan Sullivan.

Both Ikuopenikan and Emeharole either cared for or worked on the same floor as 52-year-old inmate Andre Bonier, who died of natural causes at the jail on Oct. 14, 2014.

1 suspended, 1 quit

Ikuopenikan was suspended by the sheriff's office Friday, though Sullivan could not say whether or not he was still being paid. Emeharole had resigned last year when Bonier's death investigation began. Neither could be reached for comment.

It's the latest of several allegations of misconduct against county jail employees, including multiple lawsuits and two indictments earlier this year alleging detention officers falsified paperwork to indicate a mentally inmate was regularly checked and in good condition.

Bonier, the inmate who died in October, was believed to be mentally ill and was being forced to take psychoactive medications, according to court records.

Authorities said he died of acute pancreatitis in a jail clinic. He was reportedly homeless when he was brought in to the jail.

The Sheriff's Office launched a routine investigation after Bonier died and found discrepancies in some paperwork, Sullivan said. He could not elaborate on what the discrepancies were or what specific paperwork had the discrepancies.

Sullivan said those discrepancies were the basis of the charges.

Bonier's records show a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1979, including theft, burglary, attempted rape and trespassing convictions.

He was most recently convicted of harassment of a public servant for spitting on the person. He was sentenced to two years in prison in November 2013.

Bonier was charged in January 2014 with assault when he struck a public servant in the hand when Bonier was being processed into jail.

Bonier's death occurred during the tenure of former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, not current Sheriff Ron Hickman.

Other incidents

Friday's indictment comes after two detention officer sergeants were indicted in April of tampering with a governmental record in the case of Terry Goodwin - a mentally ill inmate who had been left unattended in a cell for weeks at a time, surrounded by infested food containers and feces. Another four were fired and nearly two dozen disciplined.

The case led to a lawsuit and a $400,000 settlement for Goodwin. Other incidents have also raised questions about the care of inmates.

Earlier this summer, the family of an inmate who committed suicide also filed a civil lawsuit against the Harris County Sheriff's Office stating that jailers violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to consider his disabilities and preventing him from committing suicide.

Anita Hassan contributed to this report.