FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A man and a woman were arrested last week in connection with the beating of a detainee at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility in Bunnell over the summer, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Raymond Wesley Dukes, 52, and Margaret Octaviea Watkins, 37, are accused of orchestrating the attack, which left the victim with a broken wrist and lacerations, according to a news release.
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On June 20, deputies responded to a physical disturbance at the jail and reviewed surveillance footage, seeing that the victim was lured into a cell before five other inmates “brutally attacked” him, using bedsheets to obscure the view, the release said. The victim, who deputies characterized as “vulnerable due to preexisting injuries,” was hospitalized, deputies said.
The five inmates who carried out the attack were subsequently arrested and face a charge of battery by a detained person upon another detainee:
- Marcus Avery Chamblin, 28
- William Albert Cowles, 22
- Kevonte Dequan Mikey Fobbs, 21
- Timothy Alvin James, 21
- Jebea Sincere Johnson, 20
By June 22, a deputy reportedly uncovered evidence linking Dukes and Watkins to the attack. After the investigation was handed to the sheriff’s office’s Major Case Unit, it was learned that Watkins offered a bounty of $100 to have the victim beaten and that Dukes — who was already incarcerated on weapon and drugs charges — relayed the bounty to other inmates, deputies said.
Arrest warrants were issued on Dec. 1 for Dukes and Watkins. Both were arrested later that day, with Watkins later posting $25,000 bond and being released. Currently, Duke is being held on no bond. Both face a charge of aggravated battery on a detained person.
“I won’t allow this kind of behavior in our jail. I also want to thank our Major Case detectives and the Detention Deputy who uncovered the evidence linking these two to the crime so they could be held accountable for their actions,” Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement.
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