Valdes fearful, inmate testifies

He says the death row inmate felt guards had targeted him for death - one had even told him when it would happen.

©Associated Press
February 1, 2002

STARKE -- An inmate law librarian testified Thursday in the murder trial of three former Florida State Prison guards that death row inmate Frank Valdes was worried that guards planned to kill him.

"He said he was going to be killed and that he wasn't going to live to be electrocuted," said Robert Krebs, 64, who is serving a 75-year sentence for robbery and burglary from Seminole County.

Krebs was one of three inmates who testified Thursday as the state began advancing its motive -- that Valdes was killed to prevent him from contacting the media about alleged abuse of inmates by guards.

"He said people were being beaten on X Wing and he wanted to lobby media support," Krebs testified.

Capt. Timothy Thornton, 36; Sgt. Charles Brown, 28; and Sgt. Jason Griffis, 28, are charged with second-degree murder in the death of Valdes, who was sentenced to die for the murder of a Palm Beach County prison guard.

Earlier Thursday, the case against Sgt. Andrew Lewis, 31, was severed from the trial after Circuit Judge Larry Turner ruled that testimony about a conspiracy involving Thornton, Brown and Griffis could confuse jurors.

No charges were dropped against Lewis, however, and he will stand trial later with three other former guards also accused of Valdes' murder.

Neither Lewis nor his attorney, Andrew Vloedman, would comment.

In his testimony, Krebs said Valdes visited him twice in the days before his death.

On July 8, Valdes came to the library to look up addresses of Florida newspapers and returned on July 15 to ask Krebs to mail about 10 letters to newspapers for him. Krebs refused.

"He was very agitated," Krebs said.

Krebs said Valdes had been told by Sgt. Montrez Lucas that he would be killed when prison superintendent James Crosby went on vacation July 16. He told Krebs that letters he had tried to mail earlier were torn up by Lucas, who is scheduled to stand trial later.

Also testifying Thursday was Willie C. Mathews, 28, who is serving 32 years for five felonies, including assaulting a guard during a near-riot at Hamilton Correctional Institution at Jasper.

Mathews was transferred to Florida State Prison from Hamilton along with four other inmates. After the melee, a guard suffered a miscarriage and Florida State Prison officers blamed the inmates.

Mathews said he was beaten repeatedly after arriving at Florida State and that Brown broke his jaw in two places.

The broken jaw went untreated for several days and Mathews said he was warned to keep quiet about it.

"Capt. Thornton said he would send me home feet-first in a pine box," Mathews said.

Valdes, he said, complained to the guards.

"He told them to stop beating me," he said.

Mathews became annoyed when defense attorney Gloria Fletcher questioned him about details prior to the killing.

"You are not worried about the fact that they jumped on that man and killed that man," Mathews said.

Another former Hamilton inmate, Charles Jerry, serving a life sentence out of Brevard County for robbery with a firearm, also testified about being beaten by some of the guards.

Both inmates said they were forced to wear cones on their heads and threatened with a beating if they fell off. They also both testified that guards beat them after placing pillowcases on their heads.

An autopsy showed Valdes suffered 22 broken ribs and a broken jaw, sternum, collarbone, shoulder, spine and nose.

Defense attorneys claim Valdes was fatally injured by throwing himself off the bars in his cell into his bunk and the floor, and some have suggested that the guards who will be tried later may have been responsible for Valdes' death.

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