Baltimore, Maryland – A former Maryland correctional officer learned his fate in federal court, today, stemming from an incident in which his colleague assaulted an inmate.
U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced Jermaine Sturgis, 41, of Laurel, Delaware, to 33 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for conspiring to obstruct justice and making false statements to a federal officer. In December 2025, after a five-day trial, a federal jury convicted Sturgis for his role in covering up evidence that a fellow ECI officer unlawfully assaulted an inmate. Sturgis previously served as a lieutenant correctional officer at the Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI), located in Westover, Maryland.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, Justice Department, Civil Rights Division, and Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI Baltimore Field Office.
“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,” Hayes said. “Our Office remains committed to prosecuting any individual who engages in such an abuse of trust. No one is above the law.”
“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,” Dhillon said. “The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable correctional officers who violate the laws they are sworn to uphold.”
“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,” Paul said. “The FBI will vigorously investigate and hold accountable law enforcement officers who exploit their authority and violate the public’s trust.”
According to the trial testimony, on July 12, 2021, after one of Sturgis’s junior officers used excessive force against an inmate, Sturgis and multiple officers conspired to delete a video recording that showed the inmate’s injuries. The video also contained other evidence of the officer’s use of force against the inmate. During the investigation, Sturgis also made false statements to state and federal investigators.
Judge Maddox previously sentenced four former ECI correctional officers who pled guilty for their involvement in the coverup. Samuel Warren, 40, of Westover, Maryland, received 15 months in federal prison for assaulting the inmate and obstruction of justice; Neil Daubach, 47, of Salisbury, Maryland, received 12 months and 1 day for witness tampering and obstruction of justice; David Quillen, 40, of Ocean View, Delaware, received two years of probation with six months home detention for conspiracy and obstruction of justice; and Daric Evans, 34, of Crisfield, Maryland, received two years of probation with three months home detention for conspiracy.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for their work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for its assistance. U.S. Attorney Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, and Trial Attorney Anita Channapati, Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Criminal Section, who prosecuted the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md .
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Maryland — U.S. Department of Justice press release.