COVINGTON, Ky. — Seven hours before Kenton County Detention Center (KCDC) inmate Johnathan Maskiell allegedly assaulted his cellmate on May 14, KCDC records show there was a law enforcement notification urging caution because of Maskiell's "violent tendencies," according to an attorney representing the victim's daughter.
Maskiell's cellmate, John Daulton, died a week later from head injuries he received during the attack, according to the Kenton County Police Department and KCDC records.
Attorney Paul Hill — who represents Daulton's daughter Tonya Jones — said he received the notification and other detention center records and video in response to an open records request he filed with KCDC.
"It says, 'warrant for parole violation - caution violent tendencies,'" Hill said as he read the notification on Tuesday during an interview with the I-Team. "The jail would've received this at 7:54 in the morning. Johnny was attacked about five or six minutes before 3 o'clock in the afternoon."
Kenton County Jailer Marc Fields declined to comment on the case.
Fields referred the I-Team to Assistant Kenton County Attorney Christopher Nordloh.
In a series of emailed responses to the I-Team's questions, Nordloh said the notification was not authenticated and it provided no evidence that KCDC staff received it.
"I trust that you will not report factual inaccuracies that put potential parties and necessary witnesses in a false light or at risk of loss," Nordloh wrote.
Nordloh declined to comment on the incident because county employees could be called as witnesses in civil and criminal cases.
According to a KCDC incident report, a detention center deputy said he heard a thud sound coming from their cell around 3 p.m.
Then, the deputy said he saw Maskiell stomp on Daulton's head, according to the report.
But Hill said the deputy didn't have a key to open the cell door, so he ran to get one.
"We don't know how long it took," Hill said. "But he had to get keys to open the door."
KCDC policy required deputies to check on Daulton every 10 minutes, according to a letter Jailer Fields wrote to the Kentucky Department of Corrections (KDOC).
But detention center records show they didn't do that.
In fact, Fields admitted that KCDC staff didn't check on Daulton every 20 minutes as required by Kentucky state administrative rules, according to a letter Fields wrote to the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
KDOC had cited KCDC for 'violating' those regulations, according to department records.
But Fields said there was no 20-minute violation during the time frame surrounding Maskiell's alleged assault of Daulton.
The deputy, "takes action to stop assault, secure suspect, call for assistance/medical and secures the scene," Fields wrote in his letter to KDOC. "No violation of the 20 minute rule."
Hill provided the records to the I-Team.
He said he received them and hundreds of additional documents in response to his open records request filed with KDOC.
The documents show that KDOC required KCDC to file a plan of corrective action to address issues related to the incident.
The records show KDOC accepted KCDC's plan without disclosing the details in the documents responding to Hill's records request.
"The plan reflects a good faith effort to comply with the standards and has been accepted as submitted," KDOC Executive Staff Advisor Michelle Stronger wrote in her response to Fields.
Hill also provided the I-Team with three minutes of video showing Daulton and Maskiell in their 'isolation' cell beginning at 9:48 a.m.
The footage — recorded by a deputy's body worn camera — shows the cellmates sleeping within arms reach of each other on the concrete floor.
The video shows Daulton told the deputy and a nurse that he didn't belong on 'suicide watch.'
"I didn't do anything to get on it," Daulton told a deputy and a nurse.
The nurse told Daulton he needed to take his medicine.
Initially, he refused to take it.
"How long will I be waiting to get off it (suicide watch) if I take my meds?," Daulton asked.
"Probably a few more hours," the deputy told him.
Seconds later, Daulton got up, walked to the door and took his meds.
According to the KCDC incident report, five hours after that, Maskiell attacked Daulton.
KCDC records show on May 13, Daulton was booked into detention center.
He had been arrested on a warrant for a parole violation.
Maskiell was arrested on warrants for violating the conditions of his release from an Ohio prison, according to Covington police.
He was processed into KCDC at 1:43 a.m. on May 14, less than six hours after Daulton was booked into the detention center, according to the KCDC website.
"There obviously needs to be some things changed within their system to keep these inmates safe," Daulton's daughter Tonya Jones said. "Because at this point they're not."
On Tuesday, Maskiell appeared via close circuit camera at his pretrial hearing in Kenton County Circuit Court.
But the hearing was continued until January at the request of Maskiell's defense attorney.
Attorney Paul Hill said within a month he expects to file a lawsuit against Kenton County and KCDC.
Asst. Kenton County Attorney Christopher Nordloh said he won't comment on the facts of the case because county employees could be witnesses in criminal and civil cases.
Mrs. Jones said as the case drags on her anxiety gets worse.
"I can't wrap my head around it," she said. "I'm angry. I'm sad. I'm so many things. I want justice for my dad."
