Published: September 08, 2009 11:34 pm      

Former correctional officer’s case dropped

Prosecution says evidence was not

CUMBERLAND — The Maryland Attorney General’s Office dismissed charges against a former state correctional officer who was to go on trial Tuesday in Allegany County Circuit Court.

The court was notified by the state late Friday afternoon that the charges of second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit assault against former state correctional officer Sherman Jones Jr., 40, of Fort Ashby, W.Va., would be dismissed or nol pros, according to circuit court clerk Dawne Lindsey. A hearing was held Tuesday in circuit court where the charges against Jones were dismissed.

Steven R. Tully, Jones’ attorney in Cumberland, said Tuesday, “The state called me Friday and told me they would nol pros the charges. They were very courteous in letting me know ahead of time. They didn’t say why and I didn’t ask them.”

Tully also said there was “no independent evidence that Mr. Jones did anything to anybody.”

That was also the position of Maryland Assistant Attorney Generals Franklyn G. Musgrave Jr. and Jason Abbott, who prosecuted the previous five cases against Jones’ fellow officers who were tried recently in circuit court on the same charges that Jones faced.

“Regarding this particular defendant (Jones), they (prosecutors) determined there was not sufficient evidence to move forward, as they said in court today,” said Raquel Guillory, public information officer for the attorney general’s office.

Jones faced trial on the inmate brutality charges stemming from the assault of six inmates at the maximum-security North Branch Correctional Institution on March 6, 2008.

Former NBCI correctional officers Kenneth E. Platter, 37, of Cresaptown; Tony Nery, 42, of Chambersburg, Pa., and Richard Robinson Jr., 36, of Cumberland, were found guilty of assault charges in separate jury trials in circuit court. All three men were released on their personal recognizance and are awaiting sentencing.

Last week, Jason Weaver, 36, of Cumberland, was found not guilty of six counts of assault and guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit assault during his five-day jury trial in circuit court before Judge Gary G. Leasure.

Ex-correctional officer Ryan Dolan, 28, of Rawlings, who was also represented by Tully, was found not guilty of four counts of assault and one count of conspiracy to commit assault. A mistrial was declared on three counts of conspiracy in which the jury was unable to reach a verdict.

Tully was pleased with the outcome for Jones and Dolan.

“I’m just happy for my two clients that the nightmare is over,” he said.

Contact Jeffrey Alderton at jlalderton@times-news.com.