Trial begins for 3 South Bay officers accused of inmate’s murder

Rafael Rodriguez, left, Jereh Lubrin, center, and Matthew Farris, right, are the three Santa Clara County correctional officers accused of murder in the beating death of inmate Michael Tyree. Rafael Rodriguez, left, Jereh Lubrin, center, and Matthew Farris, right, are the three Santa Clara County correctional officers accused of murder in the beating death of inmate Michael Tyree. Photo: Santa Clara Sheriff Photo: Santa Clara Sheriff Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Trial begins for 3 South Bay officers accused of inmate’s murder 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

They swore to protect the inmates they guarded, but on Tuesday three Santa Clara County correctional officers went on trial in a San Jose courtroom, charged with murder in the 2015 fatal jail-cell beating of a mentally ill man who prosecutors said died begging for his life.

In a rare case of correctional officers being prosecuted for murder, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Matt Braker told the jury that the three defendants beat defenseless inmate Michael Tyree to death and then attempted to cover up the crime.

“Power and the abuse of power. That’s what this case is about,” Braker said. “This abuse of power culminated with the events of Aug 26, 2015. ... They beat him so bad that they ruptured his spleen and lacerated his liver and then they left him in his cell to die.”

But attorneys for Officers Jereh Lubrin, 29, Matthew Farris, 27, and Rafael Rodriguez, 27, said Tyree’s death was the result of him standing on his cell toilet and falling back onto the sharp edge of a stainless steel sink, either accidentally or intentionally.

“We have determined what the actual cause of death is,” defense attorney William Rappoport, who represents Farris, said. “It’s not a homicide.”

Retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell said she does not recall any cases in the county involving correctional officers in her 19-year tenure that ended in 2001, nor does she remember any since.

“First of all, it’s rare for any law enforcement people to be prosecuted,” Cordell said, recalling only one murder case in Santa Clara County that involved a retired police officer. “This is especially rare.”

The 31-year-old Tyree died naked, covered in filth, inside a cell at the Main Jail in San Jose that he should have already been released from.

The court had ordered on Aug. 12, 2015, that Tyree, a 31-year-old mentally ill inmate, be released to a mental health clinic in San Jose, according to a transcript of that hearing.

But beds at the facility were full, and 15 days later he was found dead in his cell suffering from a damaged spleen and liver that had caused him to die from internal bleeding. The Santa Clara County medical examiner ruled he was beaten to death.

Lubrin, Farris and Rodriguez were charged with the murder of Tyree in September 2015, after the findings by Dr. Joseph O’Hara, the medical examiner. They also are accused of assaulting inmate Juan Villa on the same night that Tyree died.

An investigation found Tyree had cried out, “I’m sorry,” and, “Stop,” as he was being beaten, prosecutors said.

The family of Tyree has already settled a wrongful death and civil rights violation claim in his death. Santa Clara County agreed to pay $3.6 million to the family in 2016, according to attorneys.

The opening statements in the trial revealed two vastly diverging theories of what happened the night Tyree died. As the prosecution sought to suggest Tyree’s death was the culmination of a pattern of inmate abuse by the deputies, defense attorneys suggested Tyree died from his own actions.

The three defendants sat in suits, expressionless, as Braker showed the court evidence ranging from personal Internet searches and phone records to a photo of Tyree’s naked body alongside vomit and feces.

He showed text messages from Rodriguez and Farris that discussed using force with inmates. Braker said Lubrin wiped his text history clean before authorities could seize it as evidence.

“I slapped a guy yesterday cu(z) he was cussing at the nurse,” read one text Rodriguez sent from his phone to a friend, “and I told him to shut the f— up and have some respect.”

The text continued, “I told him I bet your parents never spanked u but I will.”

Braker presented a text an officer sent to Farris in which the officer said he wanted to start pulling inmates out and twisting them at 2 in the morning.

Farris replied, “Come to the 6th bro,” referring to a section of the jail. “We do it at 12:01.”

Braker told the court a friend of Lubrin’s said in an interview that Lubrin had told him, “Beating people up was my job.”

Braker laid out a timeline of the night, starting with the first confrontation involving Tyree, a 7:25 p.m. pill call. At that time a nurse informed Lubrin that Tyree did not take his pills, and when Lubrin approached Tyree he began yelling, calling the nurse the devil and Satan, Braker said.

Authorities said Tyree was housed by himself in a sixth-floor cell in the 6B wing of the jail for inmates with special needs on warrants for misdemeanor theft and drug possession.

The alleged abuse began hours later, during nightly cell searches, Braker said. Sometime between 10:48 p.m. and 11:09 p.m. the three deputies entered Tyree’s cell, and inmates in nearby cells told investigators they heard Tyree’s screams shortly after. One reported hearing a loud thud and dead silence afterward. Tyree was found dead during a cell check shortly after midnight on Aug. 27.

In the morning, several inmates made calls to their families telling them, “They killed a guy last night,” Braker told jurors.

After Tyree’s death, Braker said, records show Rodriguez searched online, “Can someone die if they are punched in the ribs?”

Tyree had cuts on his right eye and left chin, along with bruising on his left temple, armpit, backside and arm. His spleen, nearly ruptured in half, and his lacerated liver showed force the medical examiner said is usually seen in a high-speed car crash, Braker said.

But each of the deputies’ defense attorneys said in their series of short opening statements that anatomical evidence was on the side of their clients.

“The important part of the case is the science,” said Judith Odbert, representing Lubrin. “What you are going to hear at the end is that it’s not a homicide.”

Odbert brushed off the shouting claims while casting doubt on the veracity of inmate testimony, suggesting they revised their statements to match each other’s and received perks for testifying for the prosecution.

“Michael Tyree yelled. He yelled on occasion. Michael Tyree yelled in reaction to things that weren’t occurring. We know that for a fact,” she said.

“Jereh Lubrin did not commit these crimes. He did not intend to kill anyone,” she said. “They don’t have a motive, but some of these inmates do.”

Defense attorney Matthew Pavone, representing Rodriguez, criticized the handling of Tyree’s death investigation. He said O’Hara was at the scene for 55 minutes. When he performed an autopsy on Aug. 28, he ruled on the cause of death within six hours, Pavone said.

“The evidence in this case will show a jump to conclusions by the county medical examiner and the prosecution as to Michael Tyree’s cause of death,” he told jurors. “It is critical that you keep an open mind until the very end.”

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno