A corrections officer at the St. Louis City Jail is facing felony charges after she allegedly allowed two inmates to beat another man inside of his cell in a wing of the prison that houses prisoners with mental health problems.
Authorities said that Demeria Thomas opened the victim's cell door and stood by as the two men brutally assaulted him for over three minutes. As other inmates ran towards the commotion, Thomas ordered them to get back.
After several minutes, Thomas ordered the men out of the cell and then locked the door. She never reported the assault and did not request medical attention for the victim, who suffered a concussion and a broken jaw. It took two days for somebody at the prison to realize he was injured and arrange for him to be taken to the hospital.
Thomas was taken into custody and charged with third-degree assault. The two inmates who allegedly committed the assault were identified as Antonio Holt, 39, and Kevin Moore, 39. They were also charged with third-degree assault. Officials did not say why they attacked the other inmate.
Mark Pedroli, the victim's attorney, said he is considering filing a lawsuit against the city over the incident.
"When government employees conspire to attack pretrial detainees, the system has reached critical dysfunction and becomes dangerous to all its citizens," Pedroli said in a statement.