4 guards charged in assault

The guards, who were already investigated internally, stay on the job.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Four Ohio State Penitentiary corrections officers -- two of whom were fired and won their jobs back last year -- face misdemeanor assault charges.
All four men were investigated internally last year for their actions, which means they will be back at work and not be disciplined based on the criminal charges, Keith Fletcher, prison spokesman, said Wednesday. If they are found guilty and sentenced to jail, the warden will determine on a case-by-case basis how to approve the time off, he said.
After an investigation by troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol post in Southington, three of the corrections officers were arrested Tuesday afternoon at the supermax prison on Coitsville-Hubbard Road and were arraigned Wednesday in municipal court. The fourth turned himself in and was expected to be arraigned today.
Details
Those charged, with background information supplied by Fletcher, are:
Michael Robinson, 41, of Marion. He also faces a charge of resisting arrest and will be back in court May 1 for a pretrial. He is accused of grabbing another corrections officer by the neck Sept. 9, 2006. He received no discipline after an internal investigation. He was hired in August 1999.
Michael Henyard, 47, of Youngstown. He will be back in court June 22. He is accused of twice ramming an inmate's head into a cell door April 1, 2006. He was fired Aug. 1, 2006, for using excess force and, after winning a grievance, was rehired Oct. 29, 2006. He was hired in May 2000.
Kevin Shimko, 39, of Hubbard. He was expected to be arraigned today. His charge reflects the same event as Henyard's. Shimko was fired July 31, 2006, for using excess force and, after winning a grievance, was rehired Oct. 29, 2006. He was hired in July 1998.
Daniel Gobel, 57, of Youngstown. He will be back in court May 25. He is accused of assaulting another corrections officer Nov. 14, 2006. On March 28, Gobel had two days' pay taken away for the event and has the ability to grieve the discipline. He was hired in December 1995.
Two views of arrests
Corrections Officer William Rager, union chapter president at the prison, denounced the way Gobel, Robinson and Henyard were arrested by troopers. He said the men were taken into custody at shift change and marched out in handcuffs in front of staff and inmates.
The guards are represented by Ohio Civil Service Employees Association/American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Sgt. Gerry Funelli of the OSHP Southington post said Henyard and Gobel were arrested in the prison parking lot, and Robinson was arrested in the lobby. Funelli said shift change was the best time to take the men into custody, adding it's doubtful inmates would have seen the arrests.
"I wish it didn't have to happen," Funelli said of the arrests. "Being a corrections officer is a thankless job. I have high respect for corrections officers, but when something like this happens, it shines a bad light on them."
Funelli acknowledged that the four men will not lose their jobs if found guilty of misdemeanor assault but said the criminal charges were necessary. He said it's important to keep both sides -- inmates and corrections officers -- in line.
meade@vindy.com