Mark Cooper retrial: Not guilty on all three counts in Rios jail death case
Defense attorney Sean Boone slapped Mark Cooper twice on the back as the verdict in Cooper's retrial was read just before lunch Wednesday.
The five-year old case was finally over.
A jury deliberated for 2½ hours before finding Cooper, 57, not guilty of two counts of involuntary manslaughter and a single count of reckless homicide in connection with the death of Alexander Rios, 28.
Cooper was a corrections officer in the Richland County Jail when he and several of his co-workers struggled to contain Rios, who had burst out of his holding cell and run past them, into the book-in area on Sept. 19, 2019.
Rios went limp after the struggle and never regained consciousness. His family took him off life support eight days later.
The state, represented by the Ohio Attorney General's Office, contended Cooper killed Rios when he stood on him with both feet.
Last fall, Richland Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson declared a mistrial when jurors could not reach a unanimous verdict after deliberating for 12 hours over two days.
It was different Wednesday.
About a half-dozen supporters on each side sat in a still courtroom as Robinson read the verdict. After hearing "not guilty" on the final count, defense attorney James Mayer III leaned over and hugged Cooper.
Cooper shares thoughts on 'not guilty' verdicts
"I'm elated," Cooper said outside the courtroom. "I'm glad that the jury got it right."
Cooper said it's been a "long five years. It's been torture."
Attorney Drew Wood and Rios' loved ones met on the second floor of the courthouse. When he returned to the third floor, Drew referred a News Journal reporter to a spokesman at the attorney general's office.
"The jury was presented with the facts of the case, which stemmed from BCI's thorough investigation of the in-custody death. We appreciate the jury's service and respect its decision," spokesman Dominic Binkley said.
Rios' family had said before trial they would have no comment.
Before Cooper joined his family, they were tearfully hugging each other. Some of Cooper's former co-workers at the jail congratulated him.
"God's amazing," Cooper's wife said.
She then hugged Mayer.
"You saved my baby," Mrs. Cooper said.
Mayer reflects on difficult case
Some time after leaving the courthouse, Mayer was enjoying a glass of whiskey back at his office. He said he has tried about 100 cases in his career, and this was the biggest win.
Mayer also credited co-counsel Sean Boone, whose legal opinions he said he respects more than anyone else's.
Asked about the difference in the two trials, Mayer said he and Boone made adjustments.
"It would have been easy after the first trial to say, 'We hung this jury. Let's just run it back the same way.' We looked at the case objectively," the defense attorney said. "Whenever the defense hangs a case, they're winning. We were way ahead (in the first trial) by as much as 10-2 for not guilty."
Mayer said he was looking for not guilty verdicts this time.
"We were going to figure out what it was that made it so we couldn't get 12 'not guilty' votes," he said. "Why were we ahead big-time but not unanimous?"
Mayer said he and Boone wanted to offer jurors a reason for how Rios died that wasn't tied to asphyxia, which was the state's theory.
The official cause of death was excited delirium, a term that is now discredited by the National Association of Medical Examiners and other organizations.
Defense team made adjustments in second trial
"We wanted to get out what it is about the delirium that can kill you," Mayer said.
According to hospital records, Rios suffered a cardiac problem. The defense contends he may have been under the influence of methamphetamines during the struggle. A long-time drug addict, Rios had relapsed about three weeks prior to his death.
Further, a piece of plastic was recovered from his stomach during the autopsy. In the body scanner video, Rios could be seen pulling something from his jail jumpsuit.
"Adding meth made him vulnerable," Mayer said. "That shored up what was perhaps a weak point (in our case at the first trial)."
He added just as there is controversy about excited delirium, there also is disagreement about asphyxia as a cause of death in cases like Cooper's.
Boone said he was "super happy" for their client.
"He has been going through this for five years," Boone said. "You could tell the relief he feels after getting this verdict. He never wavered that he was doing his job in all of this."
Boone also credited the jury for being attentive during some grueling, lengthy testimony. He predicted jurors would come back with a verdict in 2½ hours.
Mayer expressed his condolences to the Rios family. Like Cooper, they have had this case hanging over their heads for nearly five years.
"My heart goes out to them. I feel nothing but respect for Alexander Rios' mom and family members," he said. "She (Toni Mould) was polite and friendly and kind on every single interaction we've had.
"She showed nothing but class. That is something that will never be forgotten by me. I'm sorry for her loss and that of the family."
Mayer finished his comments by saying while the experts and the lawyers in both trials disagreed, the jurors did not, at least the second time.
"We wanted to put an end to this, and we did that today," he said. "We are super excited about this jury's verdict."
mcaudill@gannett.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Former Richland County jailer found not guilty in second trial
