Former Inmates Sue KCJ
November 10, 2020 at 2:29 a.m.
Former Inmates Sue KCJ
By Amanda Bridgman-
Doug Marsillett II, 30, of 3450 18B Road, Tippecanoe, represented by Fort Wayne attorney Christopher C. Myers, filed a tort claim notice May 13 against former Kosciusko County Sheriff Rocky Goshert, unidentified jail officers and jail medical staff and the medical staff at Parkview Hospital Warsaw.
According to the lawsuit, Marsillett was incarcerated in KCJ on June 5, 2018, and two weeks later suffered a seizure, causing him to become unconscious and fall on his face on the toilet bowl rim. The suit states Marsillett was denied medical care for approximately 45 days, and he was not able to visit a doctor until July 2018, that his seizure medications had been kept from him or they were given to other inmates and that he was denied ice or soft food.
As a result of the incident, according to the lawsuit, Marsillett’s jaw was offset, resulting in his teeth being offset and causing a tooth to break. After Marsillett was released from jail, Myers writes that his client was seen by staff at Parkview Hospital Warsaw that ran tests that showed he was seriously injured and was in need of corrective surgery on his eye socket and cheek bone, and that his jaw is still out of place and locks up.
Marsillett is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with attorney’s fees ands costs, for suffering physical pain, mental stuffering, damages to his face/eye sock/cheekbone, damage to mouth and teeth, medical and hospital expenses, future medical procedures and corrective surgeries, mental anguish, emotional distress and other damages and injuries.
In a second lawsuit, Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes is named along with three other jail officers only identified as Travis, Lindsay and Maria.
This civil suit was filed Nov. 2 by Michael Messina, 26, a Las Vegas man who was convicted here for using the internet to stalk and harass a family in Warsaw.
Messina is also represented by Myers in his suit, and alleges that the sheriff had unconstitutional/constitutionally inadequate policies, practices, procedures and/or protocols in effect at KCJ, which resulted in jail staff failing to protect him from attacks by fellow prisoners at the jail. It further reads that Dukes failed to adequately supervise and/or train his jail staff on the appropriate steps to take to prevent prisoner-on-prisoner attacks within the jail, causing Messina to suffer violations of his right to due process and/or right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the 14th and/or 8th Amendments of the United States.
According to the lawsuit, Messina was incarcerated at KCJ from Jan. 11, 2019, until Feb. 24, 2020. During the period between April and November 2019, Messina was allegedly attacked by other prisoners on multiple occasions. The suit claims that Messina was at risk for attack by other prisoners due to Messina’s sexual orientation.
The lawsuit alleges that in late April or early May 2019, an inmate named Curtis Deturk punched Messina and injured him. The attack was allegedly reported to jail personnel, including the parties named in the suit. Messina was then moved to a protective custody cell, according to court papers, however, a jailer later moved Deturk to the plaintiff’s cell and permitted him to remain housed with Messina.
The suit alleges that on May 16, 2019, Deturk physically attacked and raped Messina.
It further claims that on Nov. 16, 2019, an incident occurred with jail officer Lindsay where she knowingly left Messina’s cell door open and left it unsecured, where two other prisoners then attacked and beat Messina. Two days later, according to court papers, Lindsay admitted her failure to protect Messina from the attack when she was returning the two inmates back to Messina’s cell block.
“At the time, the two attackers said in front of Officer Lindsay, ‘Let’s beat up Michael...’ Officer Lindsay responded in front of the plaintiff and other prisoners on the cell block ‘I’m not gonna let you beat him up again, I already let you once,’” according to the suit.
Messina is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre-judgment interest, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs and for all other just and proper relief.
Doug Marsillett II, 30, of 3450 18B Road, Tippecanoe, represented by Fort Wayne attorney Christopher C. Myers, filed a tort claim notice May 13 against former Kosciusko County Sheriff Rocky Goshert, unidentified jail officers and jail medical staff and the medical staff at Parkview Hospital Warsaw.
According to the lawsuit, Marsillett was incarcerated in KCJ on June 5, 2018, and two weeks later suffered a seizure, causing him to become unconscious and fall on his face on the toilet bowl rim. The suit states Marsillett was denied medical care for approximately 45 days, and he was not able to visit a doctor until July 2018, that his seizure medications had been kept from him or they were given to other inmates and that he was denied ice or soft food.
As a result of the incident, according to the lawsuit, Marsillett’s jaw was offset, resulting in his teeth being offset and causing a tooth to break. After Marsillett was released from jail, Myers writes that his client was seen by staff at Parkview Hospital Warsaw that ran tests that showed he was seriously injured and was in need of corrective surgery on his eye socket and cheek bone, and that his jaw is still out of place and locks up.
Marsillett is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, along with attorney’s fees ands costs, for suffering physical pain, mental stuffering, damages to his face/eye sock/cheekbone, damage to mouth and teeth, medical and hospital expenses, future medical procedures and corrective surgeries, mental anguish, emotional distress and other damages and injuries.
In a second lawsuit, Kosciusko County Sheriff Kyle Dukes is named along with three other jail officers only identified as Travis, Lindsay and Maria.
This civil suit was filed Nov. 2 by Michael Messina, 26, a Las Vegas man who was convicted here for using the internet to stalk and harass a family in Warsaw.
Messina is also represented by Myers in his suit, and alleges that the sheriff had unconstitutional/constitutionally inadequate policies, practices, procedures and/or protocols in effect at KCJ, which resulted in jail staff failing to protect him from attacks by fellow prisoners at the jail. It further reads that Dukes failed to adequately supervise and/or train his jail staff on the appropriate steps to take to prevent prisoner-on-prisoner attacks within the jail, causing Messina to suffer violations of his right to due process and/or right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the 14th and/or 8th Amendments of the United States.
According to the lawsuit, Messina was incarcerated at KCJ from Jan. 11, 2019, until Feb. 24, 2020. During the period between April and November 2019, Messina was allegedly attacked by other prisoners on multiple occasions. The suit claims that Messina was at risk for attack by other prisoners due to Messina’s sexual orientation.
The lawsuit alleges that in late April or early May 2019, an inmate named Curtis Deturk punched Messina and injured him. The attack was allegedly reported to jail personnel, including the parties named in the suit. Messina was then moved to a protective custody cell, according to court papers, however, a jailer later moved Deturk to the plaintiff’s cell and permitted him to remain housed with Messina.
The suit alleges that on May 16, 2019, Deturk physically attacked and raped Messina.
It further claims that on Nov. 16, 2019, an incident occurred with jail officer Lindsay where she knowingly left Messina’s cell door open and left it unsecured, where two other prisoners then attacked and beat Messina. Two days later, according to court papers, Lindsay admitted her failure to protect Messina from the attack when she was returning the two inmates back to Messina’s cell block.
“At the time, the two attackers said in front of Officer Lindsay, ‘Let’s beat up Michael...’ Officer Lindsay responded in front of the plaintiff and other prisoners on the cell block ‘I’m not gonna let you beat him up again, I already let you once,’” according to the suit.
Messina is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, pre-judgment interest, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs and for all other just and proper relief.
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