February 13, 2015

Oakdale Inmates Sentenced for Inflicting Severe Injuries on Fellow Inmates

LAKE CHARLES, LA—United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that three inmates were sentenced Thursday in two separate cases for severe beatings of other inmates. United States District Judge Patricia Minaldi presided over the hearings.

Virginia Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Beatings

Douglas Darrell Harris, 32, of Petersburg, Va., was sentenced to 41 months in prison on one count of assault at a federal correctional institution. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

According to evidence presented at the November 6, 2014 guilty plea, Harris assaulted a fellow inmate twice on April 1, 2014 at the Oakdale Federal Correctional Institution. One of the beatings was caught on camera, and the other was witnessed by a guard. As a result of the beatings, the injured inmate suffered fractured fingers, a fractured humerus, blurred vision and head pain. He also suffered a seizure and was admitted into the intensive care unit. Additionally, his hands were so badly injured they required surgery.

Mexican Nationals Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Assault

Martin Alfonso Olivas-Lopez, 40, and Pablo Palacios-Gomez, 36, both of Mexico, were sentenced to 60 months in prison on one count of assault at a federal correctional institution. They are to be transported back to Mexico upon completion of their prison terms.

According to evidence presented at the November 20, 2014 guilty pleas, Olivas-Lopez and Palacios-Gomez assaulted another inmate on May 7, 2014 outside of Olivas-Lopez’s cell at the Oakdale Federal Correctional Institution. The assault was captured on the prison’s camera system. They punched the inmate in the head repeatedly and continued the assault after he had fallen to the ground. They then meticulously cleaned the area. The inmate suffered lacerations on his head, a nasal bone fracture, and a swollen eye and jaw.

The FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons investigated the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Abendroth prosecuted the cases.