Third former prison guard indicted in cover-up of inmate death in 2016

A third former prison guard at California State Penitentiary Sacramento was charged Tuesday with attempting to cover up an inmate’s death in 2016.

Brenda Villa was charged with conspiracy, perjury and three counts of falsification of records in a federal investigation in connection with the death, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Guards Arturo Pacheco and Ashley Marie Aurich were escorting a 65-year-old inmate, and Pacheco was accused of pulling the inmate’s legs from under him while he was handcuffed.

The inmate’s head and upper torso struck the ground, and he died from his injuries two days later.

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Pacheco and Aurich were fired in 2018.

At the time of the incident, Villa was a correctional sergeant and supervised other officers at the prison, prosecutors said.

Villa allegedly submitted false reports and lied under oath to the federal grand jury investigating the death, officials said.

In 2020, Pacheco was charged with two counts of willfully depriving the inmate of his rights and two counts of falsifying records in a federal investigation.

Aurich was charged separately with falsifying records.

Pacheco and Aurich were accused of filing false incident reports in an attempt to conceal the presence of other guards at the time of the incident and falsely reporting that the inmate “spun to his left and lunged forward,” prosecutors said.

The pair pleaded guilty. Pacheco was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison, while Aurich received a 21-month sentence.

If convicted of all charges, Villas faces 70 years in prison, including 20 years for each count of falsification of records, and a $250,000 fine.