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UTICA, NEW YORK - A former sergeant pleaded guilty Thursday to assault connected to the fatal beating of an inmate earlier this year at a Central New York prison.
Francis Chandler Jr. entered a guilty plea to second-degree gang assault and is expected to receive a four-year prison sentence. He had previously faced multiple charges, including second-degree manslaughter, conspiracy, offering a false instrument, and tampering with evidence.
Prosecutors say a group of corrections officers repeatedly beat inmate Messiah Nantwi on March 1 at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Oneida County, using fists, batons, and boots. Nantwi was found dead approximately 45 minutes after the officers first entered his cell. Authorities allege the officers then attempted to cover up the assault by falsifying reports, planting a weapon, and meeting the next day to coordinate a false account.
Ten corrections officers were indicted in connection with the case, including two for murder, and five others charged with manslaughter. Six additional individuals have agreed to cooperate with the prosecution.
Chandler entered his plea in a Utica courtroom, across from where three officers are currently on trial for a separate fatal beating at Marcy Correctional Facility last winter. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 16.
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