MEADVILLE —
A former Crawford County jail inmate is being sued for his role in an incident that led to the death of a jail guard.
The civil suit filed Friday in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas by Mary Janis Chapin of Conneaut Lake alleges negligence, assault and battery, wrongful death and resulting loss of companionship against Gregory M. Brown in connection with the death of her husband, Gary Chapin.
Brown, 25, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter last October in a criminal trial in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas for fatally injuring 49-year-old Crawford County Corrections Officer Chapin. He died Nov. 15, 2010, from injuries received while working at the jail.
In December 2011, Judge Mark Stevens sentenced Brown to the maximum sentence of 30 to 60 months (two and one-half to five years) for involuntary manslaughter for Brown’s involvement in Chapin’s death.
Brown currently is serving a 15- to 54-month at the State Correctional Institution Greene in Waynesburg for a robbery conviction in Erie County, according to online Pennsylvania court records. Brown’s 30- to 60-month sentence on involuntary manslaughter from Crawford County runs consecutive to his Erie County sentence.
On behalf of herself and Gary Chapin’s estate, Mrs. Chapin seeks an unspecified amount of both compensatory and punitive damages from Brown.
The suit seeks damages for lost wages and future earnings by Gary Chapin; hospital and medical expenses; and loss of companionship.
The suit asks for a jury trial, but no trial date had been set by Tuesday afternoon by the Crawford County Court Administrator’s Office.
Brown was an inmate at the Crawford County jail in Saegertown on Oct. 13, 2010, while Chapin was working as a corrections officer that night.
At Brown’s trial, the Crawford County District Attorney’s Office argued that Brown threw Chapin violently to the floor while Chapin was trying to handcuff Brown.
However, Brown’s defense attorneys argued Brown and Chapin got their legs tangled up as Chapin attempted to handcuff Brown and that the incident was an accident.
The Crawford County Coroner’s Office ruled Chapin’s death a homicide due to blunt force trauma after an autopsy found Chapin had suffered a skull fracture; bruising on both the right and left sides of his brain; a broken right collar bone; and four fractured ribs on the side and two rear rib fractures as well.
Chapin never regained consciousness following the incident and died of his injuries Nov. 15, 2010.
Pennsylvania State Police had charged Brown with third-degree homicide and companion charges of aggravated assault and assault by prisoner.
The jury of seven men and five women found Brown not guilty of third-degree murder and not guilty of aggravated assault and assault by prisoner, but only guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Brown was housed in the Crawford County jail Oct. 13, 2010, after transferring in from the state Correctional Institution at Albion. Brown was at the jail awaiting a hearing in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas for allegedly violating a no-contact order involving his estranged wife. Brown had been out on state parole after serving the 15-month minimum on the 15- to 54-month sentence from Erie County, but his parole was revoked because of the no-contact finding.
Chapin, who had worked at the jail for three years, is the first Crawford County corrections officer to die from injuries sustained during performance of his duties. Before joining the jail staff, Chapin had worked as a police officer on the Linesville, Jamestown, Conneaut Lake, West Mead Township and Cambridge Springs police forces.
Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at kgushard@meadvilletribune.com.
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