HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A detention officer is under investigation for
allegedly encouraging and watching at least eight Harris County jail
inmates attack another inmate.
On Nov. 29, Antwanne Lee, who is
charged with DWI with a child in the car, was transferred from his unit
to a different one, according to court records.
Records
state the inmates were throwing up gang signs, and Lee said he didn't
feel safe. He was taken to a holding center, but at 3 p.m., he was told
he had to go to the unit.
Through a call button, he again told an
officer he didn't feel safe. When the detention officer said "No," Lee
told him he would pleasure himself in front of him.
Records show a
camera captured Lee on top of a bunk, at 5:27 p.m., doing exactly that.
The officer told him to stop and the other inmates asked the officer if
he wanted them to "jump" Lee.
According to records, the officer
said, "Hurry up. I'm about to get off work." In the following minutes,
cameras captured a group of eight inmates, warming up and getting ready
to attack, as the officer sat and watched.
At 5:31 p.m., Lee went
down to the first floor of the unit, where he was assaulted by multiple
inmates. That's when the inmates used a broom head and handle, striking
him over his head repeatedly, records state.
At one point, Lee
was able to get away and ran up the stairwell. While climbing the
stairs, inmates reportedly poured boiling hot water on him.
One
of the inmates, Darrick Carriere, is accused of using a shank during
the attack. The weapon fell, Lee grabbed it and stabbed Carriere
multiple times. However, records state Lee somehow found himself yet
again cornered by the inmates.
At 5:34 p.m., just minutes after
the attack began, another detention officer saw the mob of inmates
assaulting Lee and stepped in, using pepper spray to stop the attack.
Ricardo
Quinones, Darrick Carriere, Joe Albert Hernandez, Bobby Darnell
Johnson, Roger Schooler, Delmar Leban, Oshey Petters, and Kennith Morris
are all charged with aggravated assault.
This assault comes as
the Harris County jail is under the spotlight for a number of violent
assaults. Last month, 19-year-old Fred Harris was
beaten and stabbed to death by his cellmate. Another attacked involved a female sergeant who was
sexually assaulted by an inmate.
An
inspection jail report from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards expressed concerns about safety due to a staff shortage.
ABC13
reached out to the Harris County Sheriff's Office, who stated the
officer who allegedly watched and encouraged the attack is working his
normal duties, but is under investigation by the Internal Affairs
Department and the Office of Inspector General. The sheriff's office did
not provide any further comments. The officer has not been charged.