Feb. 4-Two of four people accused of severely beating a fellow inmate in the Pontotoc County Justice Center have been charged with felonies.
Zachariah Semon Larry, 23, and Kendrick Dale Goodson, 25, were recently charged in Pontotoc County District Court with aggravated assault and battery in connection with the beating of Markice Walker.
Affidavits for two others accused of taking part in the assault - Drew Davis, 28, and Tyler D'Shon Johnson, 28, - were filed in court, but formal charges hadn't been filed by press time Friday.
However, District Attorney Erik Johnson told The Ada News Friday that he anticipates filing felony charges against Davis and Johnson.
The incident occurred at about 9 p.m. Jan. 12 in one of the jail's inmate pods.
The alleged victim, Markice Quentez Walker, 27, was either lured or coaxed into a cell where the other inmates reportedly beat him severely.
Walker was flown by medical helicopter to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City and admitted for serious injuries, including a fractured eye socket.
Walker indicated on social media that he is recovering from his injuries.
Jailers called for law enforcement officers to assist at the jail after discovering Walker had been assaulted, and because the inmates involved were refusing to lock down in their cells.
The inmates involved reportedly resisted the commands issued by jailers and law enforcement officers. Authorities used non-lethal force to subdue some of the inmates and gain control of the jail pod.
Deputy Michael Lindsey was one of many law enforcement officers who responded, and then entered the pod.
"Once the door opened, I gave all inmates the command to lock down," Lindsey said in a report. "They all looked at me and kept pacing around the table area. I then gave all inmates the command to line up against the west end wall and place their hands on the wall. Eventually, all inmates complied and line up on the wall. I then began to call the inmates to exit the pod one at a time.
"Once I called for inmate Zachariah Larry to face away and to walk back to me. He turned and stated, 'I am not scared of you (expletives).' At the same time, inmate Drew Davis stepped away from the wall and started telling or me to shoot him with my less lethal shotgun. Larry then began stating that he wanted me to shoot him in the head with my shotgun."
Lindsey indicated he commanded Larry to get on the ground, but Larry continued to taunt him, bending down and asking for Lindsey to shoot him in the head.
"As inmate Larry went to stand upright, he took a small step forward, as in the motion to come towards me and the other officers," Lindsey said. "I then deployed one bean bag round to the center torso on inmate Larry. Due to inmate Davis still refusing to follow commands and standing with his fists balled up, I deployed a second bean bag round to the center torso of inmate Davis.
"I then turned back to inmate Larry and saw that he still had not laid down on the ground and deployed a third bean bag round to left shoulder area, striking him in the left shoulder blade. At this point, all inmates complied and laid face down on the ground. Inmate Larry and inmate Davis were placed into handcuffs."
After being taken back to his cell, Davis reportedly assaulted a jailer and a Chickasaw Lighthorse police officer.
Lindsey said once the melee was over, he reviewed footage of what took place when Walker was assaulted.
"At (8:10 p.m.), you can see inmate Kendrick Goodson enter cell 101," Lindsey said. "Shortly after, you see inmate Larry enter the same cell as (Goodson). During this time, you are able to observe inmate Davis pacing back in forth inside of the pod and can see (Walker) standing and talking to other inmates in the pod. I then observed both inmate Davis and inmate Tyler Johnson enter the cell with the other inmates. At (8:14 p.m.), you can see both inmates Davis and Johnston exit the cell and walk out to (Walker). (Walker) then follows inmate Davis into cell 101. As soon as inmate Davis entered the cell, he closed the cell door behind him.
"Though the window of the cell, you are able to see someone hitting and stomping on (Walker). During this time, you are able to observe inmate Johnston standing by the cell door, as in an attempt to block the view of the camera. At (8:18 p.m.), all persons exit the cell."
