WALKER COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) -- Yet another Walker County corrections officer is set to plead guilty in the 2023 death of inmate Anthony Mitchell.
According to court documents made available Tuesday, Benjamin Daniel Shoemaker has entered into a plea agreement on one count of conspiracy against rights and two counts of deprivation of rights in connection with Mitchell's death and two other assaults.
Shoemaker's plea agreement makes him the ninth officer to confirm being involved in the case. A nurse also entered a guilty as well.
Walker County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Anthony Mitchell after he allegedly fired at an officer during a wellness check on January 13, 2023. According to a lawsuit his family filed after his death and confirmed by numerous plea agreements since, Mitchell was mistreated at the jail and consistently denied medical care. On January 26, 2023, he lost consciousness. Officers took him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A coroner’s report indicated that the 33-year-old’s death was the result of hypothermia, as well as sepsis and “medical neglect.”
The Walker County Sheriff’s Office maintained Mitchell had been conscious at the time he was taken to the hospital, but leaked footage from the jail showed him being carried out by deputies at the time.
In addition to admitting to previous allegations regarding the abuse Mitchell suffered, Shoemaker admits he, alongside at least one co-conspirator, wanted to use the abusive treatment suffered by Mitchell for personal gain. The plea agreement shows that in an effort to justify a raise request, Shoemaker wanted to "show the County Commissioner how difficult working at the jail was, how 'crazy' and 'disgusting' some of the detainees were" by intentionally keeping Mitchell's cell as filthy as possible.
This plan was undermined when a jailer, however, unaware of the scheme, had the garbage cleaned from Mitchell's cell before the commissioner's visit. Shoemaker and a co-conspirator then adjusted their plan by "convincing a different inmate in the jail's booking area to act 'crazy' when the County Commissioner visited."
Shoemaker rewarded the inmate with a pack of honey buns after he acted out in front of the commissioner, according to court documents.
Additionally, Shoemaker admits to two separate assaults against inmates. One assault took place in 2022, and the other happened in 2023. The 2022 assault involved Shoemaker placing a handcuffed inmate in a "headlock while he and several other correctional officers punched" him. Shoemaker's pants were covered with the inmate's blood following the assault. Court documents show he was then allegedly "singled out as a role model" for his conduct during the assault in a meeting conducted by jail administrators. Shoemaker was ultimately offered a promotion to lieutenant for his role in the assault, which he took.
The 2023 assault described in the plea agreement involves Shoemaker and a co-conspirator tackling, dragging and restraining an inmate to a chair. The two corrections officers then punched the inmate in the stomach and head repeatedly, according to court records. Shoemaker admitted there was "no legitimate law enforcement purpose" for the use of force.
Walker County Jail officers Courtlan Brent Jones, Joshua Conner Jones, Karen Kelly, Bailey Ganey, Grayson Colin Woods, Heather Craig, Megan Johnson and Daniel Lee Allan Brown have reached agreements to plead guilty or pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights in connection to Mitchell’s death. Nurse Daniel Wyers, who was contracted to work at the jail from an outside party, agreed to plead guilty to denying care to Mitchell last year.
Shoemaker will be arraigned Feb. 13.
Read Shoemaker's full plea deal below: