COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – A former inmate at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center has filed a lawsuit against the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO).
Roger Gooden, represented by the Strom Law Firm, claims that the SCSO’s negligence led to him being “brutally attacked by an inmate.”
The complaint states that Gooden was arrested in January 2022 and taken to the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center. After four months in custody, Gooden began working there as a “trustee.”
The lawsuit states that trustees perform multiple duties within the facility, such as assisting prison guards with feedings, ordering/distributing in the cafeteria, delivering mail, managing tablets/visits, and janitorial duties. Trustees are also allowed to move freely within the dormitories, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint states that on November 29, 2023, Gooden administered electronic tablets used for approved visits in the Bravo Pod.
During the shift change, prison guard Gregg-Wright, who had been monitoring the pod, left Bravo, the lawsuit says. Prison guard Johnson took his place.
However, the lawsuit alleges that Johnson left Bravo shortly after arriving, leaving the dormitory “unattended and unsupervised” without “securing the Bravo cell or checking that all cells were locked.”
While the Bravo cell was unattended, James Edward Bell, another inmate at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center, left his cell and attacked Gooden, according to the indictment.
The indictment alleges that Bell punched and kicked Gooden “all over the head and body” for five minutes before stabbing him in the eye socket with a “prison-style knife.”
Gooden described his injuries as “severe” and the associated pain as “immediate” and “excruciating,” the lawsuit states.
Gooden argues that the SCSO violated its duties to adequately supervise inmates, failed to ensure that cells were locked and secured, failed to ensure that no inmates were in the cell block before allowing Gooden in and allowing him to work, and failed to intervene when Gooden was beaten and injured.
WIS News 10 reached out to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, who responded with the following response:
“We have not received any legal notice regarding Mr. Gooden, so there will be no comment at this time.”
You can read a copy of the lawsuit below:
Feel more informed, prepared and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our Email newsletterAnd Download our apps. Do you have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.
Copyright 2024 WIS. All rights reserved.
