Former Westmoreland prison guard will serve time for role in inmate assault
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A former Westmoreland County Prison guard was ordered to serve time in the facility where he once worked.
Brian Joseph Prinkey, 27, of Connellsville was sentenced Friday to serve 10 days to 23 months behind bars at the county lockup for his role in the assault of an inmate there in 2022. He will be paroled from the Hempfield facility after serving the minimum portion of the sentence, the judge ruled.
“I find this to be very offensive. Your whole job is to prevent violence, and you could have facilitated a homicide when you opened that door. You had no idea what they were doing,” said Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio. “The sentence has to involve some level of responsibility.”
Prinkey pleaded guilty in January to two misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit simple assault and official oppression. Police said Prinkey was working as a corrections officer at the jail on Aug. 20, 2022, when he conspired with two inmates who were involved in assaulting another inmate.
According to court records, witnesses told investigators Prinkey talked with the two inmates and later signaled to them before he opened the victim’s cell door from a control panel. Police said Prinkey took no action as one inmate watched as the other assaulted the man as he slept in his cell. Prinkey continued his guard rounds while the victim called out for help, police said.
Court records indicated the assault victim was awaiting trial on charges that he raped a child. He was treated at a local hospital for his injuries.
Defense attorney Gary Gerson argued Prinkey should not be jailed, citing potential security risks and dangers of having a former guard serve as an inmate. Gerson suggested Prinkey, who had been on the job for only eight months, was taken advantage of by experienced inmates.
“He was being groomed,” Gerson said. “They didn’t go to one of the older guards for a reason. He helped them out and they would appreciate their help. It’s a head-scratcher.”
Assistant District Attorney Steven Reddy called Prinkey’s role in the assault an abuse of power and said his actions warrant a brief time in jail.
“All Mr. Prinkey did was hit a button, but it could have been so much worse. Just some time of incarceration is necessary so Mr. Prinkey realizes the seriousness of his actions,” Reddy said.
Prinkey was fired from his job shortly after he was charged.
The inmates involved in the assault also were charged with crimes.
Vincent T. Green, 32, of New Kensington and Nicholas Haynes, 27, of Mt. Pleasant pleaded guilty last year to simple assault for their roles in the attack and were sentenced to serve just less than one to two years in jail.
Green, who police said watched as Haynes assaulted the inmate, was at the jail awaiting trial on drug charges at the time of the incident. Haynes was awaiting trial on harassment and robbery charges, according to court records. He was acquitted in 2021 of murder charges related to a 2018 fatal shooting in Arnold.