TYLER, Texas — Four Smith County Jail inmates have been charged with robbery for accusations of working together to beat up another inmate and steal his items, commissary and phone privileges, judicial records and documents show.
Christopher Hardy, 28, Jerome Rutherford, 24, Joshua Meekings, 26, and Miguel Angel Hernandez, 29, have all been indicted for robbery in connection with an alleged assault and robbery in the jail on Aug. 26, 2022, according to an arrest affidavit.
The affidavit states an inmate was taken to the Smith County Jail clinic on Aug. 27 for injuries caused by an assault that he said happened the day before.
He had injuries to his face, including a swollen, bruised left eye and several red markings/bruising on his forehead going down his left side of his nose to the bottom of his left cheek. Jail staff also reported his side, where his ribs are located, were in extreme pain, the affidavit said.
The inmate said the alleged attack happened after the jail's commissary items were handed out. After an officer left, the inmate said four to five other inmates came into his cell, assaulted him, took his commissary and threatened him for his pin number to use his money for phone calls, the document read.
Initially, he identified three of the suspects as Hardy, Rutherford and Meekings, the affidavit said.
According to the document, Hardy came into the cell and "sucker punched" the inmate in the face.
Investigators said Hardy kept hitting the inmate along with Rutherford, who also kicked him, ripped off his shoes and poured hot sauce in his face.
The inmate told the investigator that Meekings hit him in the ribs and put his head in the toilet, the document explained.
After the assault, the group of inmates stole items from the jail cell, including the commissary items. They threatened more beatings if he didn't give up his pin number that's used for inmates to make calls. The inmate gave them his pin, the affidavit stated.
Hernandez was later identified as another suspect in the assault and robbery. Witnesses also confirmed the theft of the inmate's commissary and his pin number, the affidavit said.
Hardy and Rutherford refused to talk to detectives, while Hernandez denied involvement in the fight and blamed others. Meekings denied his involvement and said he didn't use the inmate's pin number for calls, the document explained.
After the interviews, detectives pulled the inmate's calls to find that Meekings was using the inmate's number to speak to a woman. He spoke about the assault while on the phone, according to the affidavit.
Meekings has been jailed since May 2022 on an injury to a child charge for accusations of placing his 4-year-old stepchild in a hot bathtub water, which caused third-degree burns. He is also charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, according to records and documents.
In a court hearing on Tuesday, Meekings' lawyer said his client wanted to have a trial for his charges and would not accept any plea deal. His bonds total $1.2 million.
Hardy has been in the Smith County Jail since September 2021 on an intoxication manslaughter charge when police say he struck a parked vehicle while intoxicated. Tamyra Campbell, 20, was killed in the crash.
Hardy's bonds total $400,000, according to jail records.
Rutherford was in the Smith County Jail at the time for a February 2022 aggravated robbery charge. He later pleaded guilty to that offense in October and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, judicial records show.
Hernandez has been in the jail since June 2022 for a bench warrant. His bonds total $100,000, according to jail records.