Jermaine Sturgis, 41, a former lieutenant at Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI) in Westover, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland to 33 months in prison and one year of supervised release for his role in a conspiracy to obstruct an investigation into the assault of an inmate.
Sturgis, of Laurel, Delaware, conspired with other correctional officers to cover up evidence that a fellow ECI officer unlawfully assaulted an inmate. A jury convicted Sturgis in December 2025 for conspiring to obstruct justice and destroy records and for making false statements to a federal officer.
“When a correctional officer tampers with evidence or obstructs an investigation into fellow officers, it undercuts the public’s trust in the criminal justice system, thwarts lawful efforts to protect the civil rights of inmates, and threatens the safety of both inmates and other officers,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable correctional officers who violate the laws they are sworn to uphold.”
“This defendant obstructed a lawful investigation by helping conceal the truth about a violent assault. Our system depends on public officials carrying out their duties honestly and lawfully. Unfortunately, Mr. Sturgis failed to comply with this mandate so now he must pay the price,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Our Office remains committed to prosecuting any individual who engages in such an abuse of trust. No one is above the law.”
“Jermaine Sturgis not only lied about the assault on an inmate but directed a conspiracy to cover up that assault by deleting evidence. Sturgis focused on shielding himself from the consequences of his crimes at the expense of the inmate he swore to protect,” said Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “The FBI will vigorously investigate and hold accountable law enforcement officers who exploit their authority and violate the public’s trust.”
According to trial testimony, on July 12, 2021, after one of Sturgis’s junior officers used excessive force against an inmate, Sturgis and other officers conspired to delete a video recording that showed the inmate’s injuries and other evidence that the officer’s use of force against the inmate had been unlawful. During the three-year investigation, Sturgis also made false statements to the state and federal investigators.
Judge Maddox previously sentenced four former ECI correctional officers who had pleaded guilty for their involvement. Samuel Warren was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for assaulting the inmate and obstruction of justice; Neil Daubach was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in federal prison for witness tampering and obstruction of justice; David Quillen was sentenced to two years of probation with six months home detention for conspiracy and obstruction of justice; and Daric Evans was sentenced to two years of probation with three months home detention for conspiracy.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Aubin for the District of Maryland and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case. The Baltimore Division of the FBI, with assistance from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, conducted the investigation.
