Ex-major faces fed sentence in Pa. jail beating
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — The former major in charge of guards at the Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh is set to be sentenced by a federal judge for falsifying a report as part of a cover up in which he denied beating an inmate who was caught trying to escape through the jail ventilation system.
Fifty-year-old James Donis pleaded guilty in October and likely faces between 12 and 18 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines.
As part of that plea, Donis also acknowledged violating the civil rights of inmate Gary Barbour Jr. by punching him, and of making a false statement to the FBI, which investigated the claims.
Barbour has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Donis, the county and several other guards who allegedly helped beat him after his ill-fated escape attempt on April 6, 2010.