U.S. Department of Justice

Sheldon J. (Shelly) Sperling

Sheldon.Sperling@usdoj.gov

United States Attorney

Eastern District of Oklahoma

NEWS RELEASE

For Release – January 14, 2009

For Further Information Contact: Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney

 Former Oklahoma Corrections Officer Sentenced to 21 Months for Federal Civil Rights Violation

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - Sheldon J. Sperling, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, announced today that JARROD ANTHONY YATES, age 24, of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 21 non-parolable months in federal prison for charges of Deprivation of Civil Rights Under Color of Law.

“In short, while acting as a law enforcement officer, the defendant violated the civil right of an arrestee to be free from physical attack,” explained U.S. Attorney Sheldon J. Sperling. “The federal offense is a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242. At the time of the crime, YATES was a jailer at the Sequoyah County Jail.”

“Charges arose from an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” U.S. Attorney Sperling continued. “YATES was indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on April 17, 2008. He entered a guilty plea on October 2, 2008.”

“YATES assaulted and battered an inmate, resulting in significant bodily injury,” U.S. Attorney Sperling stated. “The United States Constitution protects prisoners from unwarranted physical assaults by law enforcement officers. The defendant’s actions operated to willfully depriving the arrestee of rights secured and protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America.”

“On June 25, 2006, at the Sequoyah County Jail in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Yates punched, kneed and stomped an arrestee on his head and face, which caused serious injuries, including a fractured orbital socket and severe lacerations that required stitches,” added U.S. Attorney Sperling.

“County jailers are obligated to treat arrestees and inmates as our Constitution requires. Most do. This aberrant violence was properly brought to the attention of the FBI by a discerning Sequoyah County state district court judge. The case was investigated by the FBI. The matter was presented to the grand jury by attorneys from the Civil Rights Division of Main Justice and our office. The cause of action was prosecuted in the district court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.”

“The Honorable Ronald A. White, District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, in Muskogee, presided over today’s hearing. The one year and nine month sentence will be served without the prospect for parole.”