WARREN COUNTY — A correction officer and a nurse at Lebanon Correctional Institute pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges in connection with the death of an inmate.
LaSelle Allen died while in custody of the Lebanon Correctional Institute in December, according to a previous report.
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Jeromy Roberts and Tiffany Ramsey have entered not guilty pleas, according to our news partners, WCPO-9.
Roberts is facing first-degree assault charges for pepper spraying Allen six times in the face while Allen was on the ground in hand restraints.
The incident allegedly happened after Allen was accused of getting into a fight with his cellmate.
Roberts and Ramsey are both facing charges of dereliction of duty for allegedly taking more than 10 minutes to check Allen’s vitals.
Allen’s family believes the two employees should be facing murder charges.
“We want these charges upgraded to murder,” said Rose Sailes, Allen’s mother. “LaSelle Linden Allen’s life mattered, and justice is what we’re asking for. They’re at home with their families while my baby is dead”
Allen’s sister said that he wasn’t sentenced to death and that he wasn’t supposed to have been punished twice.
His family said that they will continue to speak out on behalf of Allen, who was a father of 10.
Chazidy Robinson, an advocate on behalf of the family, said, “What we’re asking is we pay attention to the facts of the case and not why LaSelle was there.”
Roberts and Ramasy were placed on administrative leave following Allen’s death.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the case and has not commented since the investigation is still open.
A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 29.
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