SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 15, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah State Prison inmate charged with the 2014 homicide of the prisoner in a neighboring cell on Monday pleaded guilty to reduced charges.
Samuel Jacob Wise, 27, was charged with homicide by assault and assault by a prisoner, which are both third-degree felonies. On Monday, Wise pleaded guilty to assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony, and negligent homicide, a class A misdemeanor.
The fight took place on Sept. 13, 2014 when Wise and inmate Christopher Lucas got in an argument after Wise complained that Lucas “made too much noise early in the morning,” according to charging documents.
When the cell doors opened for a recreation period, Wise entered Lucas’ cell, and the fight became physical.
Guards ordered a lockdown, but Wise remained in Lucas’ cell. Using a can of pepper spray and 14 pepper balls, corrections officers were able to break up the fight.
Lucas collapsed, and died at a local hospital about an hour later from cardiopulmonary arrest due to adrenaline and exposure to pepper spray, an autopsy found.
