Feb 20, 2013 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – The former major in charge of guards at the Allegheny County jail was sentenced Wednesday to five years’ probation for falsifying an official report to cover-up punching an inmate caught trying to escape through the jail’s ventilation system, and must serve the first eight months in a halfway house.

James Donis, 50, had pleaded guilty in October to falsifying his report concerning inmate Gary Barbour Jr. and, as part of the plea, acknowledged punching Barbour in April 2010 and then lying to the FBI when agents investigated a year later.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shaun Sweeney wanted Senior U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond to sentence Donis to between 12-18 months in prison, in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines, while defense attorney Charles Porter Jr. sought probation – and choked up in asking for leniency.

“I apologize, your honor,” Porter said because of his tears. “But this is not the type of man we typically see here.”

Porter argued Donis deserved a break because punching Barbour was “aberrant” behavior not in keeping with his character. But the judge reminded Porter Donis’ behavior included lying to the FBI months later. “Of course, we probably wouldn’t be here if he immediately admitted to the assault,” Diamond said.

But Porter claimed Donis did fess up to punching Barbour and deleted a reference to it in his report only after a supervisor warned Donis he might “get in trouble” over it.

Donis’ family and friends described him as a solid, hard-working family man who was respectful to inmates and often put his job first, saying they saw him leave at all hours of the day and night to attend to problems at the jail where he rose through the ranks before this investigation and a related lawsuit prompted his firing after nearly 23 years.

Sweeney didn’t dispute Donis’ character or work record, but asked for a prison sentence to deter other guards who would be asking one another, “What did Donis get?”

Although Donis will likely be allowed to hold a job while he’s at the Renewal Center halfway house downtown, he may not be able to run a tavern. Donis has been doing that since he was fired in late 2011, after Barbour filed a federal lawsuit against Donis, the county and other guards Barbour claims beat him. That lawsuit is still pending.

When he pleaded guilty, Donis acknowledged punching Barbour several times and fabricating an addendum to his report claiming he hit Barbour only because he was “combative, attempted to break free, and refused to follow orders.” Donis now agrees that Barbour didn’t resist after he was caught in the air duct.

“I made a mistake, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Donis told the judge. “What I’m asking is please don’t judge me on one incident.”

Barbour claims another guard kicked him in the back so hard that Barbour soiled himself, before Donis and several other guards punched him as punishment for trying to escape after Donis first put on leather gloves and stated, “I’m your worst nightmare.”

The inmate’s father, Gary Barbour Sr., 55, of McDonald, said he didn’t think the sentence was sufficient.

“My opinion is they should have put him in (prison) for a year, just so he can feel what it’s like to be handcuffed and put in custody and that kind of thing,” Barbour said. “Maybe at that point he’d think what it would feel like if, on top of that, what it would be like to have nine or 10 guys beating up on him.”