Conn. CO was negligent in monitoring inmate who died by suicide, report says

The inspector general found the officer falsified required tour logs but concluded his actions did not result in the 33-year-old inmate’s death at New Haven Correctional Center

August 13, 2026 09:12 AM

By Justin Muszynski
Hartford Courant

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Connecticut Office of Inspector General released a report Wednesday ruling that a corrections officer was negligent in monitoring an inmate who died by suicide after his cellmate allegedly extorted more than $5,000 from him, while threatening to expose that he was accused of sexually assaulting a child.

Inspector General Eliot Prescott released a 26-page report detailing the findings of his investigation into the death of 33-year-old Gamboy Guaranda at the New Haven Correctional Center on April 16.

The investigation concluded that the actions of a Connecticut Department of Correction officer who allegedly did not properly monitor Guaranda were negligent but did not rise to the level of criminal behavior, Prescott wrote. He also concluded that the cellmate who allegedly blackmailed Guaranda into giving him money by threatening to tell others at the prison about the sexual assault allegations he faced likely committed an extortion crime, but it could not be determined if it was a driving factor in Guaranda committing suicide.

“The Department of Correction thanks the Inspector General for his diligent work conducting the investigation in which he concluded that the untimely death of Mr. Guaranda was not the result of any criminal action,” DOC spokesperson Andrius Banevicius said in a statement. “The DOC takes the wellbeing of all the individuals under its supervision — as well as the wellbeing of its staff — very seriously. The death of an incarcerated individual is traumatic for all involved.

“The DOC is continuing to review the findings with an eye toward strengthening our policies and practices, where and if appropriate, to ensure the safety of the individuals under our supervision,” Banevicius said.

Shortly after 8 a.m. on April 16, Guaranda was found hanging by a ligature in his cell, the report said. He was not breathing and had no pulse.

DOC staff provided him medical attention before he was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where Guaranda was pronounced dead at 8:37 a.m., according to the report. An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed that Guaranda died by suicide.

Guaranda had been in custody since Aug. 13, 2025, when he was arrested by the New Haven Police Department on charges of first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a child. In a news release, police said they responded to the pediatric unit of Yale New Haven Hospital on the report of a sexual assault involving a child and found that the alleged abuse had occurred days earlier.

According to police, detectives investigated and found that the alleged assault involved a child who lived in the same multi-unit building as Guaranda. Police said Guaranda was arrested the same day the investigation was launched after he allegedly confessed to having sex with the child. He was unable to post a $250,000 bond.

According to Prescott’s report, Guaranda lived in fear in DOC custody that other inmates would learn of the allegations against him. During a mental health evaluation in October 2025, Guaranda allegedly said he felt unsafe because of his charges.

A note found after the death allegedly suggested that Guaranda’s cellmate, Angel Rodriguez-Mendez, had threatened to expose his charges to other inmates unless Guaranda paid him, according to Prescott’s report. Prescott said he found that Guaranda was arranging through his brother to have money sent to Rodriguez-Mendez’s relatives under the ruse that he was helping get his bail money to a bail bonds agent, the report said.

It was only on the day that Guaranda died that his brother said Guaranda had confessed to him that the more than $5,000 he had allegedly sent to Rodriguez-Mendez’s family members was extortion money, the report said. It was also on the note Guaranda left in his cell.

According to Prescott’s report, Rodriguez-Mendez was transferred out of the facility and into federal custody the day before Guaranda died. Rodriguez-Mendez was his cellmate for about a month, according to the report.

In his report, Prescott said there is evidence substantiating the claim that Rodriguez-Mendez was extorting Guaranda. However, Prescott noted that Guaranda’s fear of inmates learning about the accusations he faced likely began long before Rodriguez-Mendez became his cellmate and probably would have continued to fester after he was transferred.

Prescott also wrote, “it is entirely unclear whether Guaranda’s decision to take his own life was the result, in whole or in part, of other mental health factors or depression from being faced with the real possibility of a lengthy prison sentence for sexually assaulting a minor.”

According to the report, Guaranda was able to cover his actions with a handwritten note on a piece of paper that he attached to his cell window, which said “using bathroom” and “give me a minute.”

Correction officer Eric Bonner was assigned to monitor the inmates in the unit where Guaranda was being housed, the report said. Prescott said his investigation found that Bonner falsely made entries on a log indicating that he had conducted required tours of the cell block in the early morning hours.

Though Prescott said he believes the false entries could be considered a crime, he said it likely did not contribute to Guaranda’s death, the report said. The investigation found that Guaranda covered the window to his cell at 7:10 a.m., but the precise time that he died could not be determined.

When Bonner came upon Guaranda’s cell at 7:27 a.m. while touring the corridor, he allegedly made no effort to talk to Guaranda through the cell door or intervene, Prescott said. However, Prescott noted that Guaranda may have already been dead by that time if he hanged himself immediately after covering the cell window.

“In sum, Bonner’s actions or inactions cannot fairly be characterized as conduct that resulted in the death of Guaranda,” Prescott wrote.

When another correction officer took over the unit and conducted a tour around 8 a.m., Prescott said she tried talking with Guaranda and, after receiving no response, she went to an area of the facility where she could remotely open the door. Upon returning, she found that Guaranda had a ligature wrapped around his neck.

“This is another tragic case illuminating the desperation of a person in custody who decides to take his own life,” Prescott wrote. “It is no secret that inmates with sexual assault charges or convictions face abuse from other inmates, particularly when the offenses relate to a minor.”

Though the death raised “significant questions of law and fact regarding whether criminal responsibility for his suicide death could be imposed on any person,” Prescott concluded that the circumstances led him to believe the death “was not the result of criminal action.”

Trending