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Four former correction officers pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges on Monday (September 22) for their involvement in the beating death of inmate Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County. The incident occurred on December 9, and Brooks was pronounced dead the following day. His death was ruled a homicide by the Onondaga County Medical Examiner’s Office in January.
According to Syracuse.com, Nicholas Anzalone and Anthony Farina, two of the officers involved, were captured on body camera footage punching and stomping Brooks in a prison infirmary. They pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and are scheduled to be sentenced to 22 years in prison. Former Sgt. Michael Mashaw and Correction Officer David Walters also pleaded guilty to lower-level manslaughter charges. Mashaw faces a sentence of three to nine years, while Walters could receive a sentence ranging from two-and-a-third to seven years.
The case has seen multiple officers charged, with some rejecting plea deals. David Kingsley II, Matthew Galliher, Michael Fisher, and Nicholas Kieffer are set to stand trial on October 6. Kingsley faces charges of murder and manslaughter, while Galliher and Kieffer are charged with murder, manslaughter, and gang assault. Fisher is charged with manslaughter.
Previously, Christopher R. Walrath was the first officer to plead guilty in the case, receiving a 15-year prison sentence in August.