Family of deceased inmate files wrongful death lawsuit against sheriff

The Marion County Jail is shown at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Ocala, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

The family of an inmate who died in custody at the Marion County Jail has filed a lawsuit against the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, claiming that jail staff could have prevented the man’s death.

Corey Merchant, 35, died shortly after getting into an altercation with another inmate, Eric Lutterloah, in the Gulf Pod of the jail. The lawsuit, filed by sister Krysti Merchant on the decedent’s behalf, specifically seeks action from Sheriff Billy Woods, Deputy Justin Kosinski, Deputy Joseph Miller and Sgt. Jerome Dukes.

“Despite their knowledge that a violent attack was likely to occur in Gulf Pod and that Mr. Lutterloah was a violent offender who had been in an altercation a week earlier and was a threat to Cory Merchant, defendants did nothing to prevent Mr. Lutterloah’s attack on Cory Merchant,” according to the lawsuit.

The decedent’s siblings, Krysti Merchant and Tommie Vester Merchant, are entitled to seek damages for their brother’s death in custody under the Florida Wrongful Death Act.

“We are aware of the allegations contained in this lawsuit and are looking forward to addressing them in a court of law,” MCSO general counsel Timothy McCourt said in a written statement.

“Ultimately, the person responsible for Cory Merchant’s death is Eric Lutterloah, who we arrested for manslaughter in connection with Merchant’s death,” wrote McCourt. “It is disingenuous to blame our jail staff for failing to prevent Lutterloah from punching Merchant three times during an altercation that lasted a matter of seconds.”

On jail security footage, at 1:09 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2021, Lutterloah can be seen approaching Merchant, verbally and physically provoking him, pushing him, and punching him in the head several times. When Lutterloah’s fist connected with Merchant’s jaw, the victim “appear(ed) to be knocked unconscious,” fell backward to the floor, hitting his head on the concrete and cracking his skull, according to the investigators’ description of the footage.

Merchant, who was being held on charges of lewd battery and unlawful sexual activity with a minor, died on Nov. 13 from his injuries. Lutterloah, who was being held on charges of armed kidnapping and sexual battery, was later charged with manslaughter and will go to trial in April 2024, according to Marion County Clerk of Court records.

Kosinski was the first jail employee to respond to the incident. After observing Merchant unconscious and unresponsive on the ground with blood coming from his ear, Kosinski requested staff and medical assistance, cleared the area and reviewed security footage, according to the incident report.

Miller and Dukes are not mentioned by name in the jail’s incident report. The pair are being sued individually on the grounds that MCSO employs them to provide security to the jail for “protection, supervision, custody, care, and control of detainees,” according to the lawsuit.

The Gulf Pod of the jail houses up to 280 detainees, a number which the lawsuit claims presents security issues, including limited observation of inmates by officers, as lines of sight were often blocked and there were typically only two officers stationed in the pod, according to the lawsuit.

Testimony from inmates present during the attack claim that no officers came to intervene or stop the fight and only came to the scene after an inmate alerted Kosinski. By then, Merchant already had been critically injured.

An inmate also testified that detention deputies would often encourage inmates to partake in violence.

“Terry Place, a former inmate at the Marion County Jail, has testified via affidavit that on multiple occasions, he witnessed an MCSO deputy encouraging Lutterloah to be violent towards other inmates,” according to the lawsuit.