Six Warren County Jail inmates are set for trial for their alleged roles in a riot last year at the facility.
The defendants, Marty Joe Cooper Jr., Norval Lee Judkins Jr., Michael Shawn Newby, Arlin Wayne Pinkard, Ethan Dale Price and John Randal Houston Simons, were each given Aug. 22 trial dates for the crime. Judkins and Cooper are additionally charged with inciting a riot. Cooper is also charged with vandalism, while Price faces charges of violating his probation.
A lone member of the alleged rioting crew, Ronald Kloosterman, has entered guilty pleas to the rioting charge. His plea, however, came as part of a plea deal regarding other charges of aggravated burglary and burglary. He was given 12 years on his burglary charges and the 11-month, 29-day sentence for the riot was run concurrently, meaning it cost him no additional jail time.
The inmates are charged with staging a riot where they threw trash and water through their cell doors, beat on their cell bars and loudly encouraged other inmates to join in their civil disobedience. The inmates of C-Block were mad because recreational privileges had been taken away for violation of jail rules.
Given the fact the preliminary hearing on the riot took over an hour when it was held in General Sessions Court, there is a chance the cases could be tried separately should all six defendants be serious about going to trial.