Inmate arrested for manslaughter after altercation

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.

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Posted December 24, 2021 | By James Blevins
james@ocalagazette.com

Major Crimes Detective Annemarie Larocque arrested Eric Thanal Lutterloah for Manslaughter on Nov. 30, according to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) media release.

On Nov. 7, at approximately 1:08 a.m., Lutterloah and the victim, Cory Merchant, were involved in a physical altercation while housed at the Marion County Jail (MCJ), according to MCSO officials.

The incident took place after lockdown, when Lutterloah was in his assigned bunk and the victim was talking with other inmates, said officials. Lutterloah confronted Merchant about talking loudly and an argument ensued. Lutterloah then pushed the victim and struck him several times. Falling to the cement floor, Merchant struck his head and became unconscious.

Merchant was transported to Ocala Regional Center at approximately 1:26 a.m., according to the official report, succumbing to his injuries on Nov. 13.

Officer Justin Kosinski said in his report of the incident that he first responded to the scene at approximately 1:10 a.m. He observed that the victim was “laying on the ground between two bunks bleeding from his left ear.”

Nurse John Little, along with Officer William Konopinski, assisted Kosinski in placing Merchant on a backboard, then placed him on a stretcher, according to the latter officer’s report. Nurse Little called 911. From there, the victim was transferred to Booking to wait for the arrival of an ambulance.

Following the Dec. 7 incident, Lutterloah was immediately removed from the area and rehoused on “Administrative Confinement,” according to the report.

After watching security surveillance video of the incident, Detective Larocque reported that during the altercation, “the victim appears to be attempting to retreat away from the suspect, and the suspect appears to be the aggressor. The victim also appears to attempt to block the suspect’s punches; at no point does it appear that the victim strikes or tries to strike the suspect back.”

According to the detective’s report, Lutterloah told investigators that he took the victim standing near his bed as a threat, adding, “I could have been in the wrong all the way, but…you know…I don’t know.”

Video evidence and eyewitness statements corroborated Lutterloah’s account of the incident. Audio of the incident was also available but did not capture anything being said between the suspect and victim or other inmates, according to the detective’s report.

At the time of the offense, Lutterloah was being held without bond at the MCJ for the charges of Armed Kidnapping, Sexual Battery, Failure to Comply with Sex Offender Reporting Requirements (two counts), Forgery and Giving a False Report for a Crime, according to official reports.

From January 1 to December 9, 2021, a total of 123 inmates have been transported from MCJ to a nearby hospital for emergency medical attention, according to Public Information Officer for the MCSO Zachary Moore. Seven of those 123 inmates died at the hospital—six of them, excluding Merchant, died of natural causes.

In 2020, 166 inmates were transported from MCJ to a hospital, resulting in zero deaths—in 2019, only one death was recorded.

Moore said there were no indications of criminal action leading to the deaths of the other six inmates in 2021, therefore no other inmates were charged.

In the case of Lutterloah, he remains incarcerated in the MCJ, where he will continue to be held without bond.