Santa Clara County jail inmate died screaming, ‘I’m sorry!’

Three Santa Clara County correctional officers are on leave in the wake of an inmate at the Main Jail in San Jose. Three Santa Clara County correctional officers are on leave in the wake of an inmate at the Main Jail in San Jose. Photo: Michael Macor Photo: Michael Macor Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Santa Clara County jail inmate died screaming, ‘I’m sorry!’ 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

A mentally ill Santa Clara County inmate was heard screaming, “I’m sorry” and “Stop,” as he was allegedly beaten by correctional officers hours before he was found dead, authorities said Tuesday as they charged the jailers with murder.

Court documents described a brutal beating by three correctional officers at the Main Jail in San Jose that culminated in the death of 31-year-old Michael Tyree, who was found naked and covered in feces and vomit in his cell Aug. 27, hours after the beating was meted out when he initially refused to take his medication, prosecutors said.

The attack came after the jailers had roughed up another inmate, prosecutors charged.

Jereh Lubrin, 28, and Matthew Farris and Rafael Rodriguez, both 27, made their first appearance Tuesday afternoon in Superior Court since their arrests last week. All three are on unpaid leave in what Sheriff Laurie Smith has described as a “vile and cowardly act.”

The three corrections officers did not enter a plea to the charges, which include murder. They are being held without bail.

“Whether a person is on the street, or in that jail, he deserves human dignity. He deserves to be treated like a human being,” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen. “We charged three correctional officers with murder for the beating death of mentally ill inmate Michael Tyree, a human being.”

The series of events unfolded about 7:30 p.m. Aug. 26, when Tyree went to get his evening medications during the nightly “pill call.”

But after the nurse gave him his medications, he put them into his pocket instead of taking them, sheriff’s Sgt. Marc Carrasco wrote in an affidavit.

The nurse notified Lubrin, who confronted Tyree and told him to go back to the window, Carrasco wrote. Tyree angrily called the nurse a “liar and a rapist,” but took the drugs from his pocket and ingested them, the affidavit says.

About 10:40 p.m., the three jailers, while conducting routine checks, confronted another inmate, Juan Villa, about a dispute he had with a fellow inmate, Carrasco wrote.

They allegedly hit Villa in the head and twisted his arms, leaving visible marks, before leaving his cell, authorities said. The three were charged by prosecutors with assault by a public officer in the incident involving Villa.

The officers later visited Tyree, with Lubrin and Farris going into his cell while Rodriguez stayed near the door, Carrasco wrote.

Tyree was heard saying words to the effect of, “Do I have to get up?” according to the affidavit. Farris then ordered him to get up, investigators said.

Tyree’s “distinctive voice could be heard screaming, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Stop,” the affidavit says. “Screaming could be heard throughout the pod for several minutes, and was accompanied by the sounds of thumping, wall banging and what sounded like blows to a person’s body.”

At one point during the alleged attack, Rodriguez closed the door until it was open only a small amount, authorities said.

The jailers caused injuries to Tyree’s eye, near his chin, on his cheek, above his left ear and on his upper arms, legs, back and hips, investigators said.

But the most significant injury was on Tyree’s lower left back, which severely damaged his spleen and liver, causing him to die from internal bleeding “within minutes to no more than one hour,” Carrasco wrote.

Afterward, the jailers searched more cells. They never called for medical aid for Tyree, whose lifeless body was found by Lubrin, authorities said. Lubrin radioed that there was a “man down” at 12:12 a.m. Aug. 27, the affidavit says.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee