By Elise Kaplan
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE — Two correctional officers with the Metropolitan Detention Center have been indicted in the 2019 asphyxiation death of an inmate they were restraining in a prone position.
Lt. Keith Brandon, 45, and correctional officer Jonathan Sandoval, 21, have each been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, a fourth-degree felony.
The grand jury indictments state that each man “did cause the death of Vicente Villela by an act committed with a total disregard or indifference for the safety of others, and the act was such that an ordinary person would anticipate that death might occur under the circumstances.”
According to a related lawsuit and incident reports reviewed by the Journal, Brandon was the supervisor on the scene, and he told Sandoval to sit on 37-year-old Vicente Villela. According to the lawsuit, Sandoval put all of his weight on Villela’s back and then delivered three “knee strikes” to his lower back area.
The Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case. The 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office initially had been reviewing the matter but referred it to the AG’s Office last summer after George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Sam Bregman, who is representing Sandoval, said it was unfortunate that the AG’s Office decided to take this case. He said Sandoval is still with the MDC but has been on administrative leave since he received a target letter saying the case would go before a grand jury.
“My client Mr. Sandoval followed his training at all times and followed instructions from his supervisor and did nothing that would amount to a crime,” Bregman said. “It’s unfortunate that the individual passed away, but it is certainly not because of any action that my client took.”
Brandon is still consulting with a local defense attorney.
An MDC spokeswoman did not respond to calls seeking comment late Wednesday.
The officers’ arraignments are scheduled for early June, according to court documents.
The case began on Feb. 2, 2019, when Villela was booked into the county jail on charges of breaking and entering, burglary, armed robbery, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.
According to incident reports, he was disoriented, and officers said he appeared “either high on a substance or has a serious mental illness.” So they decided to put him into a clinical seclusion cell in the Psychiatric Acute Care, or PAC, unit.
The entire encounter was filmed. Video shows an agitated Villela resisting officers who are trying to take his leg shackles off. Several officers pinned him down, with one kneeling on his back, as he says he can’t breathe. Minutes later, he stops moving.
Officers and medical staff tried to revive Villela, but he died. His death was classified as a homicide by the Office of the Medical Investigator. An autopsy report says he died of “mechanical asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint” with “toxic effects of methamphetamine” as a contributing factor.
His death came to light three months later when his family held a news conference demanding answers and pleading for justice.
Villela’s family filed a wrongful death suit against Bernalillo County and several officers. That case settled in federal court. Lawyers representing Villela’s family could not be reached late Wednesday.
(c)2021 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.)