SAN JOSE, Calif. ( KRON ) — Three former jail guards walked free out of the Santa Clara County courthouse in San Jose on Tuesday after they pleaded guilty to causing the death of 31-year-old Michael Tyree in 2015.
Ex-guards Matthew Farris, 35, Jereh Lubrin, 37, and Rafael Rodriguez, 40, looked tense and nervous as they pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Farris walked past a large group of cameras and news reporters without saying a word.
Tyree was a mentally ill man who was arrested for a misdemeanor offense and held in a San Jose jail for his own protection, District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. Attorneys and a judge believed that jail was the safest place for Tyree to remain until a bed opened up at a mental health treatment facility.
Instead, Tyree was beaten to death when the three guards entered his cell at night armed with batons on August 26, 2015, Rosen said. Inmates heard Tyree screaming out in pain and begging for mercy from the guards. He was the only inmate in his cell.