By Andy Hoffman
The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa
BURLINGTON, Iowa — Two convicted murderers and a convicted robber are facing new charges in the severe beating Sunday of a Des Moines County correctional officer after the inmates were caught making “hooch” in a jail cell.
Jorge “Lumni” Sanders-Galvez, 23, Earl Booth Harris, 24, and Bobby Joe Morris, 26, are expected to be charged in Des Moines County District Court with felony charges related to the attack on the correctional officer that occurred about 4 p.m. Sunday.
The officer, whose name has not been released, remains at Great River Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for numerous injuries, including fractured facial bones. His condition, although not considered to be life threatening, has not been released.
A second correctional officer also was injured in the incident. She was treated and released from the medical center. Her name has not been released.
“The corrections staff were conducting a search of the “Male Max” area because they received information inmates were making homemade “hooch,” said Lt. Brett Grimshaw, who was speaking on behalf of Sheriff Mike Johnstone, who is on vacation. “The corrections staff did locate the mixture in one of the inmate cells and were attempting to evacuate the area to do a complete search of the individual “Male Max” cells.
“During this transition, two inmates, Earl Riley Booth-Harris and Jorge Luis Sanders-Galvez brutally attacked one of the correctional staff inside the “Male Max” are. A third inmate, Bobby Joe Morris, assisted in the assault by preventing other correctional staff from intervening and entering the “Male Max” area.”
Doug Ervine, jail administrator, said deputies asked for outside assistance after learning the correctional officer was “pinned down in the male maximum security area and was being assaulted by inmates.”
Des Moines County sheriff’s deputies, along with Burlington and West Burlington police officers, responded to the jail at 3630 Bauer Drive, where they assisted jail staff in removing the injured officers and regaining control of the situation.
The jail was placed on immediate lockdown.
Sanders-Galvez and Booth-Harris were both being housed in the Des Moines County jail without bond awaiting sentencing this Monday for recent, unrelated murders that occurred in Burlington. Both are facing mandatory sentences of life in prison without the possibility for parole.
Morris was sentenced at 10:30 a.m. Monday by District Judge Mary Ann Brown to a prison term not to exceed 25 years on armed robbery charges related to a serious of holdups involving mostly Hispanic people who were temporarily living in the area working at the fertilizer plant while it was under construction in Wever.
All three inmates have been removed from the Des Moines County Correctional Facility, Grimshaw said.
Earl Booth-Harris and Jorge Sanders-Galvez have been temporarily moved to the Iowa State Penitentiary in Ft. Madison and Bobby Joe Morris has been transported to the Oakdale Classification and Medical Center in Oakdale after Monday’s sentencing.
Authorities said the ISP’s tactical united assisted in the transportation of Sanders-Galvez and Booth-Harris to the state prison in Fort Madison. It was not known Monday if they will be returned Monday to Des Moines Country for sentencing.
Sanders-Galvez was convicted last month of first-degree murder in the March 2016 killing of Kedarie Johnson, a 16-year-old Burlington High School student. A co-defendant, Jaron “Wikked West” Purham, 25, remains in custody at the Lee County jail, where he is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges in the death of Johnson..
Booth-Harris also was convicted last month of first-degree murder in the February 2015 killign of Deonte “Tae Tae” Carter, 24, during a large, daylight disturbance at South Hill Park. Testimony at his trial indicated the shooting was the result of the theft of a pair of Nike Air Jordan athletic shoes.
He is scheduled to be sentenced at 8:30 a.m. Monday by District Judge John Linn. Sanders-Galvez will be sentenced at 3:30 p.m. the same day by Brown.
Ervine said the jail has returned to normal and the facility-wide lockdown has been lifted.
A joint investigated into the incident is being conducted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Des Moines County Sheriff’s office.
Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and charges are expected to filed against the three men in the near future.
©2017 The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa)