The Region : Deputies Face Trial in Prisoner Beating

Two suspended sheriff’s deputies were ordered to stand trial on charges of assaulting a prisoner who said they hanged him upside down by his ankles and beat him with a stick. Municipal Judge Rand Schrader bound Deputies Jim B. Gates, 32, and Donnie Johnson, 26, over for trial, but allowed them to remain free pending May 26 Superior Court arraignment on charges of assault under color of authority. Gates and Johnson are accused of having assaulted prisoner Alfredo Munoz at the sheriff’s Lennox station. Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Healey said Munoz was originally arrested for public intoxication last July, but escaped and was arrested five days later by other deputies. He said Gates and Johnson asked to book Munoz, but instead took him into a room and beat him. If convicted, they could be sentenced to state prison for up to three years.