FRESNO, CA – A federal grand jury earlier this month indicted Raquel Mosqueda, a correctional officer for the CA Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and prisoner Jimmie L. Carter for conspiracy in an attack on another incarcerated at California State Prison-Corcoran, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of California.
The charges are for conspiracy to violate the constitutional rights of an incarcerated. The two violators planned to “get rid of” the victim, the GJ said, with Carter carrying out the act under Mosqueda’s protection.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and CDCR’s Office of Internal Affairs engaged in a joint investigation for the case, now prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen A. Escobar and Trial Attorney Laura-Kate Bernstein of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, said DOJ.
“Mosqueda facilitated an assault of the victim by permitting Carter and other (incarcerated) to enter the victim’s cell and assault him. The assault caused bodily injury to the victim,” said the DOJ.
The DOJ statement said additional charges include violation of the victim’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment, since prisoners are entitled to safety from fellow incarcerated.
The statement explained that if Mosqueda and Carter are convicted, the maximum penalty for conspiracy includes 10 years of prison time and a $250,000 fine. Guard Mosqueda, however, may be subject to double that penalty for the charge regarding the victim’s right to no cruel and unusual punishment.
