Three Rikers Island guards admit to inmate beating cover-up
Three Rikers Island guards — including a Long Island man — have admitted to covering up their 2012 beating of a handcuffed inmate, authorities said.
Correction Officers Tyrone Wint, 31, of Brentwood, and April Jackson, 36, of Queens, and Capt. Moises Simancas, 45, of Staten Island, pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree falsifying business records, a felony.
They will be on probation for 5 years and were required to quit their jobs with New York City’s Correction Department under the terms of a plea deal, authorities said.
According to the city Department of Investigation, after inmate Gabino Genao, 29, was “verbally abusive” to one of the guards, Simancas and Wint led Genao out of a housing area and into a stairwell obscured from view.
Genao, handcuffed behind his back, was forced to the ground, beaten with a baton and hit repeatedly in the head, neck and torso, the department said.
The guards later submitted false use-of-force reports that minimized Genao’s injuries, according to the department.
The beating occurred on Oct. 30, 2012, during the aftermath of superstorm Sandy. Staffing at Rikers was short, and inmates had been locked in their cells for longer than usual, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office, which has jurisdiction over the jail.
The officers faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted of felony assault.
Attorneys for Wint and Jackson declined to comment. Simancas or his lawyer couldn’t be reached.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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