Four Shelby County Jail Employees Indicted in Death of Man Held in Restraint Chair

CENTER, Texas — Three Shelby County jailers and a sheriff’s deputy have been indicted in connection with the July death of James Elliot Perry Jr., a 49-year-old man found unresponsive in the Shelby County Jail hours after his arrest, after being placed in a restraint chair.

A special grand jury met Aug. 19 following a Texas Rangers investigation into the death. The four surrendered Aug. 24 at the San Augustine County Sheriff’s Office and were released on bond, according to local news reports.

The arrest and the restraint chair

Perry, known to his family as Jamie, was arrested at about 10:11 p.m. on July 18 after witnesses called about a man who appeared intoxicated and in a mental health crisis, KTRE reported. At the jail he was given a suicide smock, and late that night staff placed him in a restraint chair to prevent self-harm, according to a state report cited by CBS19.

Jail staff found Perry unresponsive at about 6:51 a.m. on July 19. He was pronounced dead at 7:19 a.m. The medical examiner’s report, including the cause of death, had not been released as of late August.

The charges against the jailers

Jailers Phillip Lee Youngblood Jr., 49, of Center; Jayne Michelle Scharnberg, 47, of Shelbyville; and Andrew Jadon Valadez, 23, of Center, are each charged with:

Manslaughter, a second-degree felony
Violation of the civil rights of a person in custody, a third-degree felony
Tampering with a government document, a state jail felony
Official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor

The indictments allege the three recklessly caused Perry’s death by leaving him restrained in a chair that restricted his movement, and failed to provide food, medical attention and proper conditions of detention, KTBS reported. They are also accused of making false entries in the jail’s restraint-chair log and face-to-face observation log, according to the Shelby County Today.

Texas jail standards require staff to observe inmates face-to-face at regular intervals, with more frequent checks for people at risk of harm.

The charges against the deputy

Deputy Angela Kay Neal, 44, of Center, is charged with aggravated perjury, a third-degree felony; tampering with a government document, a state jail felony; and official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor.

The indictment alleges Neal falsely stated in a sworn probable cause affidavit that Perry exposed himself to a child in a public place, and made a false entry in an offense report, KTRE reported. Those documents were used to justify Perry’s arrest. Neal has been placed on administrative leave.

Sheriff calls charges premature

Shelby County Sheriff Gerald Corbell said the case was brought to the grand jury “prematurely,” noting that the Texas Rangers investigation is ongoing and the autopsy and toxicology results are not yet available, CBS19 reported. Corbell said he does not agree with the charges against Neal. “Deputy Neal intended to assist Mr. Perry,” he told KTBS.

Family questions

Perry’s family has said about 10 hours passed between his arrest and the discovery of his body. Relatives told KTBS he was found naked, with marks from handcuffs and ankle restraints and extensive bruising, and that they believe he had been dead for several hours before he was found. Those accounts come from the family and have not been confirmed by investigators.

The charges are accusations. All four employees are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. No trial dates had been reported.

Sources