Pollock prisoner sentenced to 24 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a prisoner at the U.S. Penitentiary in Pollock, La., was sentenced last week to two years in prison for assaulting another inmate who later died.

Lee Adams, 53, of Santa Clara County, Calif., was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of involuntary manslaughter. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release. According to the October 20, 2017 guilty plea, Adams entered a fellow inmate’s cell on October 31, 2014 and beckoned for him to follow. After the inmate entered Adams’ cell, Adams struck the inmate causing him to fall backwards. The back of the inmate’s head struck the floor, and he was found laying motionless. Adams exited the cell and entered the common area. Correctional officers locked down the area and transported the injured inmate to a local hospital where he died on November 4, 2014. The coroner concluded that the inmate sustained a skull fracture and massive injury to the brain, concluding that he died from blunt force to the side of his head that struck the floor. There is no indication that Adams specifically intended to kill the inmate.

The FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons-Special Investigative Services conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown is prosecuting the case.