A former Richmond County Sheriff’s Office deputy has pled guilty to federal civil rights charges involving an assault on a jail detainee.
Dantavion Jones, 33, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to an Information charging him with Deprivation of Civil Rights Under Color of Law. The guilty plea subjects Jones to a possible sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison, along with substantial fines and restitution, followed by up to three years of supervised release upon completion of any prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg for the Southern District of Georgia, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke of the FBI Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
As described in the plea agreement, Jones was a deputy with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and, with other personnel, responded to Richmond County’s Charles D. Webster Detention Center on May 7, 2022, to secure inmates who had caused flooding in a section of the jail.
A pretrial detainee, referred to in court documents as Victim 1, “was handcuffed, face-down on the ground, and was not posing a threat to anyone” when another deputy shouted that the detainee wanted his handcuffs removed. A jailer attempted unsuccessfully to unlock the handcuffs, and Jones “then proceeded to unlock and remove the handcuffs from Victim 1.” Another deputy then repeatedly punched the detainee and placed him in a chokehold, while Jones “failed to intervene to stop or attempt to stop the assault.”
Two other former Sheriff’s Office staff members, former Corporal Daniel D’Aversa, 52, and former jailer Melissa Morello, 27, await sentencing after previously pleading guilty to Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law in the underlying case.
U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall will schedule sentencing for Jones upon completion of a pre-sentence investigation by U.S. Probation Services.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney George J.C. Jacobs III and Anita T. Channapati of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
