Brazos County Pays $500,000 To Settle A Federal Lawsuit Filed By A Former Jail Inmate Who Was Assaulted By Three Other Inmates Who Remain Held In Multiple Criminal Cases

Screen shot of a document provided to WTAW News by Brazos County.
Screen shot of a document provided to WTAW News by Brazos County.

A federal lawsuit over civil rights violations against Brazos County ends after the county pays a former jail inmate $500,000 dollars after he was assaulted by three other inmates.

Click HERE to read and download the amended final judgment that was filed in federal court in Houston.

According to the lawsuit, the victim was attacked while being held on misdemeanor charges that were later dismissed.

The lawsuit says in October of 2022, no employees conducted checks in the housing unit during a five hour period where the victim was attacked. And before the assaults began, the victim said he pressed a button requesting help, but nobody came to his assistance.

The three inmates named in the federal lawsuit remain in jail, where they await trials after they were indicted on charges of aggravated sexual assault. They are 18 year old Tavares Lyles of Bryan and 19 year olds Fidel Sanchez Jr. of Bryan and Devin Newton of Caldwell.

Sanchez and Newton were also indicted related to the inmate attack for sexual coercion, Newton for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and Sanchez for assault causing bodily injury.

Online court records show Sanchez is also awaiting four other trials on felony charges. One accuses Sanchez of beating a child with a stick in June 2022 that caused a fractured eye socket and a fractured ankle. Sanchez was also indicted for continuous violence against family members and felony theft on separate dates in February 2022 and violating a protection order two or more times in July of 2022. Online jail records shows bonds on all charges against Sanchez totals $344,500 dollars.

Online court records for Newton shows pending trials on charges of assaulting and harassing jail employees in separate incidents in December 2023, theft of a firearm in August 2022, misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury in April 2023, and Burleson County charges of aggravated assault, assault causing bodily injury, and possessing a prohibited item in a correctional facility. Online jail records shows bonds on all charges against Newton totals $214,500 dollars.

Online court records for Lyles shows pending trials on stealing three guns in August 2022, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in June and August of 2022, and misdemeanor charges of theft and resisting arrest in separate incidents in September 2022 and evading arrest in August 2022. Online jail records on all charges against Lyles totals $106,000 dollars.

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