When Maurice Monk of Oakland was found dead in his Santa Rita Jail cell, there were uneaten food trays and pills in his cell.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Three Alameda County sheriff's deputies were arraigned Tuesday morning following a new grand jury indictment regarding the in-custody death of Maurice Monk roughly four years ago.
Same charges: Dependent elder abuse
The indictment charges deputies Robinderpal Singh Hayer, Thomas Mower, and Donall Rowe with dependent elder abuse. Hayer was also indicted for falsification of an official document.
‘Perplexed’
These charges are exactly the same as what former District Attorney Pamela Price charged them with last year.
Mowrer's attorney, Alison Berry Wilkinson, said she was "perplexed" as to why the new DA, Ursula Jones Dixon, would seek a grand jury indictment on the exact same charges as what the deputies had already faced.
Wilkinson said she's not pleased that the case now heads to trial, instead of being given the opportunity for an open preliminary hearing, which occurs in a grand jury indictment.
"This is troubling to the defense team," she said.
All three deputies remain out of custody. None entered a plea, but they are all expected to plead not guilty at their next court hearing on Jan. 21.
Monk's death
(From L-R) Nia' Mor , Tiffany and Elvira Monk the daughter and sisters of Maurice Monk, who languished for days at Santa Rita Jail.
The statute for these charges is five years.
In 2024, Price had originally charged 11 deputies with Monk's death on Nov. 15, 2021. Body camera video obtained exclusively by KTVU in 2023 showed that deputies and Wellpath nurses had opened the door to his cell for several days before that, but never physically entered the room or asked him if he was OK, despite his nearly catatonic state.
In August, Dixon's prosecutors dropped eight of the defendants, which included six sheriff's deputies and two healthcare providers, from the case, saying there was insufficient evidence.
But Hayer, Mowrer and Rowe remained.
The DA did not immediately return comment as to why it pursued a grand jury indictment.
"I really do think they're doing their job," Monk's sister, Elvira Monk, said, adding that she has someone from the prosecutor's office fills her in and attends court hearings with her.
She added: "I'm tired. I'm tired of fighting for so long. But I'm glad the fight is still going on."