WESTOVER, Md. — A correctional officer at the Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI) in Maryland, Daric Evans, aged 32, entered a guilty plea today to charges of conspiring to obstruct justice. This plea is connected to efforts to conceal evidence of an unlawful assault by another officer on an inmate.
On July 12, 2021, Evans learned of an incident where a fellow officer had used force against an inmate. Responding to the scene, he assisted in escorting the injured inmate, who was visibly distressed and had sustained injuries, to a medical evaluation. The inmate asserted he had been assaulted by correctional officer Samuel Warren.
During a subsequent strip-search of the inmate, which was fully compliant and recorded by officer David Quillen, comments were made regarding the need to delete the incriminating video. Following a discussion among the officers, including a supervisory officer suggesting a cover-up, it was agreed that the video would be deleted, and a false narrative would be presented to investigators.
Evans, along with others, agreed to fabricate the story concerning the video’s disappearance and lied to both state and federal investigators about the events. Samuel Warren and David Quillen have also pleaded guilty to charges related to the assault and the subsequent cover-up efforts.