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Report has no clarity about rape of inmate

The Sheriff's Office declares that Daniel Ray Warren died of "self-inflicted hanging" and that others beat him in the county jail.

By JONATHAN ABEL
Published January 14, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - Daniel Ray Warren died in the Hernando County Jail on Nov. 2. In 21/2 months, allegations have come out that Warrem was battered and raped.

On Friday, the Sheriff's Office released its final report on Warren's death, which found that he died of "self-inflicted hanging" and was beaten by other inmates while in jail.

The Sheriff's Office has referred the case to the State Attorney's Office to consider charges of aggravated battery against Brian Southall, the inmate who was caught on tape elbowing out Warren's teeth in a jailhouse fight hours before Warren committed suicide.

The report provides no clear answer about whether Warren was raped.

Last month, the medical examiner said "definitively" that Warren, 39, wasn't raped. Detectives interviewed more than two dozen inmates who agreed.

But two inmates cited in the sheriff's report said they either witnessed the sexual assault on Warren or heard about it from him.

Jail warden Arvil "Butch" Chapman said "the sheriff's report appears to be consistent with the autopsy report and our initial investigation finding that these (rape) allegations are unsubstantiated."

Carlos Douglas, the lead detective, was more ambiguous: "This investigator is unable to determine if a sexual assault did in fact occur," he wrote.

The sheriff's report brought up new names that were not included in earlier reports compiled by Corrections Corp. of America, the private company that operates the jail.

In an interview with detectives, John T. Pietri Sr. said he was assigned to a cot in the day room of the E-pod, with direct view into Warren's cell. Pietri was 20 or 25 feet away and could see motion in the cell that Warren shared with two other inmates, Joseph Pharris and Joseph Maher.

Pietri said he heard screaming and loud moaning in Warren's cell "as the victim was apparently having sex with Joe Pharris against the victim's will," the detective's report said. Pietri said he knew it was Warren moaning because he heard him the day before when he saw inmates poking Warren with a broomstick.

According to the detective's report, Pietri also said "the moan was painful sounding and that the victim moaned at evenly spaced intervals on approximately 10 occasions. After the victim stopped moaning, (Pietri) heard Joe Pharris say to the victim, "Lay down and shut up."'

Pietri told detectives there was no doubt in his mind that Pharris was sexually assaulting Warren.

The Sheriff's Office gave Pietri a lie detector test. He answered deceptively three of 15 questions, including "Have you intentionally withheld any information in reference to this case?" and "Did you actually see Joe Pharris having sex with Daniel Warren?" Pietri said "No" to both questions.

Douglas spoke to Ross Lankford, an inmate who talked to Warren through the bars 40 minutes before he committed suicide.

Lankford said Warren was "depressed and was bleeding from the mouth." Lankford told a detective that Warren "did not say who he was fighting but stated he had his teeth knocked out ... (and) advised that the past two nights he was gang raped while in the E-pod unit."

Lankford said he told a guard that Warren was claiming to have been raped.

Interviews with inmates portrayed Warren, who was awaiting transfer to state prison after a conviction for the aggravated battery of his wife, as a weak prisoner, pushed around by fellow inmates.

He was acting crazy by mooning the security cameras and was deep into gambling debts. Detectives think Warren was starting trouble with other inmates to get moved away from his creditors.

The report concludes the sheriff's investigation into Warren's death, but Warren's mother, Sue Coleman, said this is not the end for her.

"I'm not satisfied with their findings, and I'm not satisfied that the guys who beat Danny up in jail - there's nothing been done with them," she said. "The jail should be liable for what happened to my son. He was in there, and they didn't protect him."

Jonathan Abel can be reached at 352 754-6114 or jabel@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 14, 2006, 01:38:14]