Jail guard who beat NJ inmate over bodily fluids sentenced to prison

🔴 A former Passaic County Jail guard is sentenced to 17 months in prison.

🔴 The handcuffed detainee was hospitalized after the "blind spot" revenge attack.

🔴 Prosecutors say the guards lied to federal investigators.

PATERSON — A correctional officer has been sentenced to federal prison after he conspired with guards to get revenge on an unruly inmate.

Jose Gonzalez, 47, was sentenced to 17 months behind bars on Monday in Newark federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. When he gets out, the former Passaic County Jail guard will undergo another two years of supervised release.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty last year to deprivation of rights and conspiracy to obstruct justice in connection with the revenge plot. Another jail guard, Sgt. Donald Vinales, pleaded guilty to the same crimes in the attack last May.

Inmate assault in jail “blind spot” led to hospitalization

It began on Jan. 22, 2021. The victim, a pretrial detainee, squirted a "mixture containing urine" onto a correctional officer, prosecutors said.

The next day, Gonzalez and two other guards conspired to get back at the inmate. They took him to an area of the jail without surveillance cameras, known as a blind spot.

Get our free mobile app

While in the blind spot, Gonzalez and Vinales assaulted the handcuffed inmate. The brutal beating left the victim hospitalized, though he wasn't taken to the hospital until the following day. None of the involved guards submitted any required use-of-force documentation.

Federal investigation uncovered conspiracy to obstruct justice

In March 2022, more than a year after the beating, Gonzalez was interviewed by federal investigators. He lied to detectives, according to prosecutors. The next month, he and the other two guards received grand jury subpoenas; they agreed to tell investigators that nothing happened.

The third guard involved in the beating was Correctional Officer Lorenzo Bowden, prosecutors said. On April 18, 2024, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice. Vinales and Bowden are both awaiting sentencing.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom