Of the seven corrections officers in the Robert Brooks case, only three are going to trial after four accepted plea deals at the last moment on Sept. 22. Brooks, an inmate transferred to Marcy Corrections Facility on Dec. 10, was brutally beaten with his hands cuffed behind his back by corrections officers while in custody. An autopsy was conducted by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office and, in February, Brooks’ death was ruled a homicide.
Christopher Walrath and Nicholas Gentile pleaded guilty early in the trial and are now joined by Nicholas Anzalone, Anthony Farina, Michael Mashaw, and David Walters who pled guilty at the pre-trial conference for the Brooks case on Sept. 22.
Gentile plead down to the lesser charge of attempted tampering with physical evidence, a misdemeanor, and accepted a sentence of one year conditional discharge after entirely resign his employment from corrections.
Pretrial conference plea bargains
Anzalone pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter and will be facing 22 years in state prison, with five years post-release supervision. He is 44 years old.
Farina pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter and will be facing 22 years in state prison, with five years post-release supervision. He is 49 years old.
Mashaw pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter and will be facing three to nine years in state prison. He is 48 years old.
Walters pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter and will be facing two and a third to seven years in state prison. He is 37 years old.
All four men are to return before Judge Robert Bauer for sentencing on Nov. 21.
Pre-trial conference plea rejections
David Kingsley, Michael Fisher, and Nicholas Kieffer chose to fight the charges, with a trial date set for Oct. 6.
Kingsley was offered a chance to plead down to the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter and a sentence of 22 years in state prison, but rejected the deal. If Kingsley is found guilty of his top charge, second-degree murder, he could face a sentence of life in prison.
Fisher was offered a chance to plead down to the lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter and a sentence of two and a third to seven years in state prison, but rejected the deal. If Fisher is found guilty of his top charge, first-degree manslaughter, he could face 15 to 20 years in state prison.
Kieffer was offered a chance to plead down to the lesser charge of second-degree gang assault and a sentence of 9 years in state prison, but rejected the deal. If Kieffer is found guilty of his top charge, second-degree murder, he could face a sentence of life in prison.
The trial against the three remaining corrections officers in the Brooks case is set for Oct. 6.
Brooks family reacts
In a statement from the Brooks family, both Robert Brooks Jr., Brooks’s son, and Jared Ricks, Brooks’s brother, spoke out against the corrections officers involve and the need for justice.
“We are grateful that Special Prosecutor [William Fitzpatrick] obtained these significant plea agreements,” said Brooks, Jr., “It is important to us to see my father’s killers publicly admit what they have done and face severe consequences.”
Ricks talked about the need to see justice is served.
“These pleas help us know that some measure of justice is served,” said Ricks. “We are eager to see the others who played a role in my brother’s death held to account at the criminal trial.”
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: 4 corrections officers take plea deals in Robert Brooks death
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