The Augusta Commission quietly approved a settlement Monday of claims arising from a 2022 excessive force incident that led to federal civil rights convictions and the termination of six deputies.
After a lengthy closed-door session, the commission approved awarding lead plaintiff Naytrone Adams $200,000 for claims he made against Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree and the six deputies involved in the incident.
The case helped bring to light serious deficiencies at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center, but Adams won’t get to enjoy the settlement. He was sentenced last week to life in prison without the possibility of parole, District Attorney Jared Williams announced Monday.
Adams, 26, was found guilty last month of malice murder in the 2020 death of Keyeon Demmons after he and another man fired guns into cars on Olive Road, killing Demmons and injured others.
The commission agreed to settle all claims with two other inmates involved in the incident: Jamarious Walker for $50,000 and Brandon Jones for $2,500.
After video surfaced of the incident, the three men last year sued Roundtree as well as now-former deputies Johnny Atkinson, Austin Birch, John Whitaker, Melissa Morello, Daniel D’Versa and Dantavion Jones.
Adams’ complaint likens his treatment to being tortured, by being “repeatedly punched, then choked until he passed out, then after reviving, being choked out again” all while in custody at the jail.
According to the complaint, the deputies forced several handcuffed inmates to lie down in an area that had been flooded, and one forced Adams’ head under water.
As deputies taunt the inmates and cheer each other on, Adams’ handcuffs are removed. He’s punched, then placed in a chokehold until he becomes unconscious.
The complaint said it’s clear the deputies “had done this before, or were at least familiar with the procedure of torturing the plaintiff.”
It goes on to cite seven additional incidents of deputies beating inmates without cause with little or no recourse.
Three of the former deputies – Jones, D’Versa and Morello – have pleaded guilty to federal charges of deprivation of civil rights under color of law, but none has been sentenced.
