Marla Jones, Managing Editor
marla@southerntorch.com
DEKALB COUNTY, Ala.--Adam Jackson, a former Jailer for DeKalb County Corrections Center, pleaded guilty last week to felony assault. Jackson was one of three jailers who were charged with beating Anthony Nute in the search room at the DeKalb County jail in Fort Payne, on March 1, 2020.
Jackson was sentenced to serve 18 months in jail, followed by three years of probation. Jackson will turn himself in and begin his sentence, later this month.
On March 1, 2020, the Rainsville Police Department (RPD) received calls regarding a man acting strangely in his front yard.
The RPD, along with Rainsville Fire and Rescue, responded to the residence to assess the man’s condition.
After arrival on the scene, Anthony David Nute was charged with three misdemeanors: public intoxication, resisting arrest, and third-degree assault. Officers’ tased Nute prior to handcuffing him. Nute was then transported to the DeKalb County Corrections Center, which is operated by the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.
Surveillance tapes show three employees of the Correction Center, Wrett Tyson, Adam Jackson, and Jon Brown, bringing Nute into a search room. While in the search room, Nute can be seen being hit, taken to the ground, and kicked. The video also shows Nute being tased by stun guns.
According to a lawsuit filed, Nute suffered head trauma, abrasions, and bruises to his face, head, neck, shoulders, chest, pelvic area, back, arms, legs, and hands and feet. The lawsuit stated that Nute’s cheekbone, eye socket, nose, nasal canal, and ribs were fractured and that Nute will need reconstructive surgery.
Wrett Tyson, one of the three former jailers charged with the assault, will go on trial in May.
The third former jailer, Jonathan Brown, was granted youthful offender status. Brown was eligible to be tried as a youthful offender due to him being 20 years old at the time of the offense. The youthful offender status means records of his case are sealed and the maximum penalty that he will face is three years.
Nute sued Jackson, Brown, and Tyson and reached a confidential settlement with the County’s insurance company.
The following statement was made by the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Office regarding the incident and firing of the jailers who were involved in the assault:
“This incident in question occurred in March 2020. The employees involved were immediately terminated and the case was referred to an outside agency for investigation, as is standard practice for all criminal cases of this nature. We have done everything in our power to assure justice is appropriately served. This behavior goes against our policies and the moral code of conduct we encourage at the DCSO. Like the public, we anxiously await justice in this crime.”
Sheriff Nick Welden added: “This kind of action goes against everything we stand for, and we will not stand for it. That’s why immediate and appropriate action was taken. Our office only stands for what’s right. We deal with the wrong when it comes along, whether it’s an employee or anyone else. There is no justification in breaking the law that we are sworn to uphold regardless of who it is.”
Southern Torch will continue to follow this ongoing story and update as more details become available.
