“They beat him so badly”: Prisoner is said to have been attacked in his cell and handed over to third-party custody | News

An inmate suffered serious injuries and had to undergo extensive surgery after he was recently beaten in his cell at the Department of Corrections, his lawyer said.

That inmate, Rickey McIntosh, said he feared for his life.

On Tuesday, Judge Alberto E. Tolentino granted McIntosh house arrest with 24-hour electronic monitoring.

McIntosh has been in prison since May 2022, on remand for another case involving drug possession and fleeing a police officer.

About a year later, he was among three inmates accused of selling controlled substances as the prison’s main contraband.

His defense attorney, Mark Smith, said McIntosh was the victim of a beating that nearly killed him at the DOC about two weeks ago.

“My client was attacked in his prison cell. They beat him so badly he has plates in his head and is due for more surgery,” Smith said. “He passed out when the beating started and whoever did it probably just kept beating him.”

McIntosh appeared before the judge two days after he was released from Guam Memorial Hospital, where he underwent extensive surgery.

DOC: “Injured Person”

DOC Director Fred Bordallo Jr. said he was notified by the warden on April 20 of an injured inmate in Post 5.

He said Guam police were called and have now documented the incident for investigation purposes.

“Our internal departments have been informed of the incident and have so far only classified an injured person,” Bordallo said. “I recommend checking with GPD to provide further details. No updates from GPD yet.”

McIntosh suffered broken ribs, a disfigured face, a broken eye socket and various injuries that appeared to result from relentless beatings, Smith said.

He feared for his client’s life, which is why he asked Tolentino to release him to a third-party trustee.

Lawyer: Prison smuggling case

McIntosh was sent to prison in May 2022. At the time he was in custody for drug possession and fleeing a police officer.

But in June 2023, McIntosh, along with fellow inmates Alvin Nash Quinata and Thomas Mark Taitano, was indicted by a grand jury and now faces charges of promoting a controlled substance as aggravated prison contraband as a second-degree felony and promoting prison contraband as a second-degree felony to have applied for misdemeanor.

Smith believes the prison contraband case is the cause of the beating.

He said Post 5, where McIntosh had a cell, was a cordoned off area of ​​the facility. Smith said the keys to the cells are held by the guards, not the inmates.

“I think he’s going to finger some people. The government is already approaching me about cooperation. That triggered a lot of that for me,” Smith said. “So what – it just happened? He was attacked? And you have to remember that I haven’t even heard of this from the DOC. My client had to call me shortly before the operation. Wow.”

Pacific Daily News reporter Jojo Santo Tomas covers all topics of interest, including sports. Email him at [email protected].