Former Lake Co. jail guards deny misconduct charges
Two former Lake County jail guards accused of not assisting an inmate paralyzed during a 2011 jailhouse scuffle pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of official misconduct.
Rodney Holmes, 44, of Zion, and Robert Schlesser, 49, of Round Lake Beach, denied the allegations stemming from their actions after Eugene Gruber, 51, of Grayslake, was injured while being booked on disorderly conduct and trespassing charges.
Authorities say Gruber "intoxicated and uncooperative," and repeatedly fought with correctional officers after being brought to the jail Oct. 31, 2011. At one point, an officer placed Gruber in a "takedown hold" and both fell to the ground.
Authorities believe Gruber suffered a spinal injury as a result of the fall that left him paralyzed. He died in March 2012 at a rehabilitation hospital in Chicago.
Despite Gruber's complaints about the injury, authorities said, he was placed in a holding cell for 15 hours before being dragged to a different area of the jail to be photographed. Gruber's cries of pain and complaints that he couldn't move his legs went unheeded, authorities said.
Holmes and Schlesser were charged, in part, because they dragged Gruber through the jail to be photographed, propped him up for the picture, then dragged him back to his cell, authorities said. They also didn't report Gruber's injuries and didn't get him the medical attention he required, authorities said.
Three jail employees, including Holmes and Schlesser, were fired as a result. Disciplinary action was filed against seven others, the sheriff's office announced in May.
Gruber's family settled a lawsuit against the county for $1.95 million earlier this year.
Holmes and Schlesser are due back in court Jan. 21 for a case management conference in front of Judge James Booras, defense attorney Doug Roberts said.
They were charged Oct. 29 by a Lake County grand jury and are free on a $75,000 signature bond.