Another defendant in 2020 riot at Washington County Detention Center pleads

A Hagerstown man involved in a July 2020 riot at the Washington County Detention Center recently reached a plea deal, resolving the case for the ninth of 10 defendants.

Nicholas Franklin Houman, 26, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor rioting in Washington County District Court last week on June 29, according to court records.

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District Court Judge Terry A. Myers sentenced Houman to a suspended two-year sentence and unsupervised probation for 18 months, according to his online case docket and attorneys involved in the case.

Defense attorney David Pembroke said Wednesday he thinks the disposition for his client is fair.

Of the 10 original defendants in the case, eight have pleaded, according to court records. Charges were dismissed against another defendant involved in a plea deal, and there is an active warrant for the 10th man, according to court records.

That warrant is for Brady Nunez, 26, of Bronx, N.Y., on misdemeanor charges of rioting and malicious destruction of property, according to his online case docket.

The disturbance began about 3 p.m. on July 25, 2020, when inmates in one of the cell blocks refused to be locked in their cells for the end-of-shift headcount to make sure all inmates were accounted for and, instead, began damaging the cell block, according to charging documents.

It took about two hours to get the inmates under control and several more hours to assess the damage to detention center property, the document said.

In March, Assistant State's Attorney Holland Burch said no officers were hurt during the riot.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office operates the detention center at 500 Western Maryland Parkway, along Hagerstown's western edge.

Riot defendant's plea deal

Holland, on Wednesday, said she communicated with a spokesperson for the sheriff's office to make sure the agency was onboard with Houman's plea deal. The deal also took into account Houman's prior record, which had one prior conviction, she said.

Holland said she requested a period of the probation to be supervised, but Houman received unsupervised probation.

Houman was only charged with riot in the case.

However the maximum penalty he faced was not specific. With riot being a common law charge, the penalty could not be cruel or unusual, Holland said.

Overview of July 2020 jail riot

The inmates were repeatedly ordered to get in their cells, but about half of the cell block, known as A-Pod, refused. As staff attempted to lock in the cooperating inmates, the others interfered, according to charging documents.

Deputies exited A-Pod and all doors were secured, the document said. The detention center's emergency response team was called and eventually deployed tear gas into the pod, according to court documents and officials. In the interim, the riot included inmates forcing open a cell door to let at least one inmate out, damage to the control center windows and an attempt to start a fire using a damaged electrical outlet.

Houman was seen using soap and water to soak down the steps into the day room, according to charging documents.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown man, 9th of 10 defendants, pleads in Maryland jail riot