California prisons’ ‘code of silence’ case goes to jury after two-day trial in Sacramento
Jurors in the California prison “Code of Silence” trial began deliberating late Thursday over whether to convict a former Sacramento-area prison guard on charges that she conspired to cover up an assault on an inmate who died two days after the attack.
Brenda Villa, a former sergeant at California State Prison, Sacramento, is the third guard accused of covering up a use of force against a 65-year-old inmate who had his legs yanked backward out from under him as his hands were cuffed behind his back.
Ronnie Price died at the UC Davis Medical Center from a pulmonary embolism two days after the Sept. 15, 2016, attack. The guard who pulled his legs out from under him, Arturo Pacheco, pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.
A second guard who was present, Ashley Aurich, also was accused of helping to cover up what Pacheco had done and pleaded guilty. She was sentenced to 21 months in prison.
Villa, who supervised both guards at the prison also known as New Folsom, is charged with conspiracy to commit falsification of records, three counts of falsification of records and lying to a federal grand jury.
Prosecutors say the case stems from the prison system’s unsanctioned “code of silence” among guards to protect one another.
Villa, who was not present when Price fell to the concrete floor face-first after Pacheco pulled his legs out from under him, is accused of inducing guards to rewrite their reports on the incident to omit the presence of another guard who they did not believe was willing to submit a false report about what happened to Price.
Testimony in the case lasted less than two days before Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb in federal court in Sacramento.
In closing arguments, Villa attorney Eric Hintz told jurors that Villa, who testified in her own defense, had given “a compelling account of her innocence” over lies from guards who were present for the incident.
He said the attack on Price was a “tragic, indefensible use of force on Ronnie Price” and that Villa would have had no reason to cover up for Pacheco, whom she had known for only two weeks.
“Brenda Villa stands alone among these former correctional officers as having told a truthful account of the events of Sept. 15,” Hintz said.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Anderson urged jurors to convict Villa on all counts, saying she had been untruthful before the grand jury and in her own testimony Wednesday.
“It tells you that she’s willing to get on the stand and tell you things that aren’t true,” said Anderson, who is prosecuting the case along with Assistant U.S. Attorney Rosanne Rust.
Jurors deliberated Thursday for less than an hour and are scheduled to resume their efforts Friday morning.
