No decisions have been made yet on the plea deals offered to the correction officers charged in connection with the beating death of Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility in December. The officers were granted an extra two weeks to make those decisions by Judge Robert Bauer at Oneida County Court on Monday and Tuesday.

What You Need To Know

  • No plea offers have been accepted by the correction officers charged in connection with the death of Robert Brooks

  • Robert Brooks was beaten and ultimately killed at Marcy Correctional Facility in December

  • Body-worn camera footage captured the events, leading to the indictment of 10 correction officers 

Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley, Anthony Farina, Christopher Walrath and Matthew Galliher — who all face the highest charge of murder in this case — were all granted that extension. Their defense cites the receipt of additional discovery items as the reason behind needing more time to decide on the offers. 

Onondaga County Assistant District Attorney Jarrett Woodfork said that the additional discovery items presented contain additional extractions from body cameras.

Michael Mashaw, Michael Fisher, David Walters and Nicholas Gentile, who are also charged in connection to Brooks’ death in December, were also given more time to decide on their plea deals, with their defense also citing the additional discovery items as the motivation behind needing that extra time.

Some of the attorneys representing the prison guards, however, had other reasons to ask for an extension. On Monday, Nicholas Kieffer and Gentile’s attorneys both said they had issues opening files and playing videos. Tuesday, Walters’ attorney claimed that the body-worn camera footage in the discovery items had been “materially and erroneously” manipulated by the prosecution. Woodfork, however, said that they have provided the defense with the entirety of what they have.

Bauer seemed frustrated with those complaints and told the defense that they must confer with the prosecution if they feel they did not receive the entirety of the available discovery items or if they have difficulty viewing them. The defense has had approximately two months to remedy the issue before appearing in court. Bauer called this “rather wasteful."

Nevertheless, all the officers were given more time to decide on if they will accept the deal and plead guilty, or let the case go to trial.

Kieffer, Gentile, Farina and Kingsley will have to have a decision by May 13; Walters, Walrath, Mashaw and Fisher must have theirs by May 14. Galliher and Anzalone have until the 19th to decide on their offers.