Cos Indicted in Jail Death

COs indicted in jail death Posted by: "Texoma Coalition" t4texas@itlnet.net htexastom Tue Feb 3, 2009 4:16 am (PST) Edmond man indicted in jail deathwww.edmondsun. com

Edmond man indicted in jail death Mark Schlachtenhaufen The Edmond Sun

EDMOND February 03, 2009 01:29 am

— A federal grand jury indictment unsealed Monday charges two corrections officers — one of whom is from Edmond — with a federal civil rights violation for the fatal assault of a man at the Oklahoma County jail.

Justin Mark Isch, 21, of Edmond, and Gavin Douglas Littlejohn, 25, of Oklahoma City, were charged with a federal civil rights violation for the alleged fatal assault of Christopher Beckman at the Oklahoma County jail.

Littlejohn and Isch were arrested Monday afternoon without incident, John C. Richter, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, stated in a news release.

Both men appeared for arraignment this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Couch. The court ordered the defendants released on bond under certain conditions pending trial. Bond for both Isch and Littlejohn was set at $20,000.

The indictment alleges that on May 26, 2007, at the jail, Isch and Littlejohn assaulted Beckman and used excessive force amounting to punishment resulting in bodily injury and Beckman’s death.

Specifically, it is alleged in court documents that Isch used Beckman’s head to open a steel door and Littlejohn repeatedly struck Beckman about his head and face.

Beckman had been arrested days before, on the evening of May 23, and booked into jail on the morning of May 24 on complaints of driving under the influence of alcohol, possession of Lortab and Xanax and on other unspecified traffic-related offenses, court papers show.

On May 26, Beckman remained in the county jail awaiting trial. On May 26, jail employees responded to a reported “medical seizure” Beckman had in the cell. Beckman was restrained, handcuffed and transported from the second floor of the jail to the 13th floor, where medical clinics are located.

The alleged incident with the door occurred while the guards were escorting Beckman from his cell to the 13th floor. After Beckman’s arrival at the 13th floor medical clinic, Littlejohn allegedly repeatedly struck Beckman about the head and face.

At press time, no further details were available about the inmate’s time of death.

In a statement, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office said it was not informed about the status or the results of the federal investigation until today. After learning about the indictments, the office said it helped federal investigators find the defendants, who reportedly surrendered without incident.

Both defendants were then terminated as employees of the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office.

“It has long been the desire of the OCSO to find out the truth about this incident, and we will not comment any further until the judicial process is complete,” the office declared in the statement.

The sheriff’s office said it was “disappointed that these two former employees have found themselves in this situation.”

Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel asked both the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate the “accident,” according to the statement.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The maximum possible penalties for the civil rights violations are life in prison, without the possibility of parole, or death. By statute, the attorney general must decide whether or not to pursue a sentence involving the death penalty.

The case was investigated by the Oklahoma City Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Dickerson Cox and trial attorney Michael Khoury from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.