4 guards sentenced in brutal beating death of an incarcerated Black man
at New York prison
[November 22, 2025]
UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — Four prison guards involved in the death of an
incarcerated Black man whose brutal beating at an upstate New York
prison last year was captured on body camera videos were each sentenced
Friday to prison terms.
The four had pleaded guilty in September, just two weeks before the
start of the trial for a group of guards accused in the death of Robert
Brooks, who was pummeled while handcuffed at the Marcy Correctional
Facility on Dec. 9. The beating of the restrained 43-year-old man
triggered outrage and calls for reform.
Nicholas Anzalone and Anthony Farina, who both had faced a top charge of
murder before pleading guilty to a lesser charge of first-degree
manslaughter, each received 22-year terms. Two more men charged with
second-degree manslaughter also pleaded guilty. Michael Mashaw was
sentenced to three to nine years in prison, while David Walters got two
years, four months to seven years.
Brooks had been serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree assault
since 2017 and was transferred to Marcy from a nearby lockup on the
night he was beaten. The videos show Brooks being struck in the chest
with a shoe, lifted by his neck and then dropped.
During the hearing, prosecutors read statements from Brooks' relatives,
including his brother, Jared Ricks, who wrote that he hopes the
“welcoming committee” shows the four defendants more grace when they
arrive in state prison as incarcerated people than they showed his
brother, Syracuse.com reported.
The victim's son, Robert Brooks Jr., wrote that watching the video of
his father’s fatal beating was like watching a horror movie.
“I pray this case teaches others that they can’t treat incarcerated
people like animals,” he wrote.
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This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office
shows body camera footage of correction officers beating a
handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in
Oneida County, N.Y., Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General
office via AP, File)
Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, the special
prosecutor in the case, said the two men were not allowed to read
their statements themselves due to objections from all four defense
attorneys after Fitzpatrick failed to file the required paperwork.
The first plea in the case came last May, when a guard charged with
murder pleaded guilty to manslaughter under a deal with prosecutors.
Christopher Walrath, who resigned, was sentenced in August to 15
years in prison.
Another guard pleaded guilty later in May to attempted tampering
with physical evidence and was sentenced to a one-year conditional
discharge.
The trial of three other guards charged with murder and first-degree
manslaughter concluded last month with a jury convicting David
Kingsley on both counts but acquitting the other two, Mathew
Galliher and Nicholas Kieffer. Kingsley faces a potential life term
when he's sentenced, while the last guard, Michael Fisher, is
scheduled to stand trial in January on a second-degree manslaughter
charge.
Fitzpatrick is also prosecuting guards in the March 1 fatal beating
of Messiah Nantwi at another Marcy lockup, the Mid-State
Correctional Facility. Eight guards have reached plea deals in the
case, while five others are scheduled to stand trial in March,
including two who are charged with murder.
Both prisons are about 180 miles (290 kilometers) northwest of New
York City.
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