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Ex-inmate assaulted in jail fails to show up in court

WARREN — A man at the center of a use-of-force investigation at the Trumbull County Jail that led to the dismissal of two corrections officers failed to appear in court twice this week.

Warrants for the arrest of Solomon Cindea, 33, have been issued in Niles Municipal Court and Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, according to court records.

Cindea was scheduled to appear Thursday in Common Pleas Court for a pretrial hearing on seven charges — petty theft, two counts of receiving stolen property and four counts of forgery — that originated from an Aug. 9 incident in Warren, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was free on a $5,000 bond.

He was scheduled to appear Wednesday in Niles Municipal Court for pretrial hearings for multiple cases on multiple charges of theft, breaking and entering and possession of drugs.

Cindea was freed from the jail Sept. 1, after the Aug. 24 incident, but was booked back in Sept. 10 on drug and petty theft charges until he was released Oct. 6, according to jail records. Cindea has made his appearances, or been granted continuances, for his active cases in Warren Municipal Court.

The incident was caught on video in the jail, showing Cindea was dragged through the booking area to a holding area. It led to the dismissal Sept. 20 of corrections officers Matthew Abbott and Christopher Zadroski. An investigation led by Trumbull County Sheriff Paul Monroe found the two used excessive force.

Arbitration between the union and the sheriff’s office to determine if Monroe’s decision will be upheld after Abbott and Zadroski filed an appeal is not yet scheduled, but expected early next year, said jail administrator Major Dan Mason.

The video begins with a half dozen officers wearing blue latex gloves approaching Cindea as he was sitting on a metal bench and two officers grabbing his leg chains and pulling him to the ground. Other officers helped to lift him and dragged him toward an elevator.

As they moved toward the elevator, Cindea’s upper body was being dragged across the floor, the video shows. Once in the elevator, the corrections officers stood around Cindea, holding his legs in the air with his knees toward his chest.

He then was pulled into a cell. There was no video that clearly showed what happened while he was inside the cell, but from a camera angle in the common area, shadows of officers could be seen. One corrections officer carried an unidentified object from the cell and a shirt could be seen being thrown out onto the floor.

Cindea was carried out of the cell by several officers into a hallway, where they stood him upright and began walking him back to the elevator, the video shows. The officers walked Cindea back through the booking area, where they initially picked him up. He fell limp to the ground. The officers picked him up again and took him into a room, where they placed him in a chair to secure him.

One of the officers held his head back, while seven others worked to secure his feet, arms and eventually strap him securely on the chair, the footage shows.

According to chief Deputy Joseph Dragovich, Abbott and Zadroski violated the department’s use-of-force policy.

Officers transporting Cindea had to restrain the prisoner as he returned from the hospital, Dragovich said, because he was making threats as well as threatening to hurt himself.

Abbott is accused of dragging the prisoner by leg shackles along the floor into an elevator to his cell. The inmate’s head did hit the elevator door, Dragovich said.

County records show Cindea has been booked into the jail 37 times since 2003. The assault occurred during his incarceration from Aug. 19 through Sept. 1 on receiving stolen property and theft charges out of Warren Municipal Court.

The office disciplined several other employees. Sgts. Ariana McBride and Anita Babcock each received unpaid 10-day suspensions.

Corrections officers William Dreier and Jordan Clay were given two days of unpaid leave, and Joseph Lynn was given three unpaid days.

Sheriff’s Deputy Anthony Diehl, who was in the booking area, also witnessed the incident and was given a two-day unpaid suspension.

rfox@tribtoday.com

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