Former Prince George’s County, Maryland, Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Justice

Anthony McIntosh, a former correctional officer at the Prince George’s County Detention Center, in Upper Marlboro, Md., today pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for providing false information about the circumstances surrounding the in-custody death of Ronnie White on June 29, 2008. White, at the time of his death, was being detained on charges related to the death two days earlier of a Prince George’s County police officer.

McIntosh, 49, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519 for providing false information in a witness statement he submitted to a police detective investigating White’s in-custody death. McIntosh admitted during his guilty plea that when he wrote his witness statement, he omitted material information that was truthful, and included information that he knew was false. Specifically, McIntosh claimed in the false witness statement that another officer had discovered White unresponsive in his single-occupant cell and had then summoned McIntosh to the cell. During the guilty plea, McIntosh admitted that, in actuality, he had been the first correctional officer to find White unresponsive in the cell, and had failed to call a medical emergency signal as required by the Department of Corrections. McIntosh also admitted that he included in his statement the false claims that he never moved Ronnie White and that he “didn’t know what was going on” when his partner told him that White appeared to be unresponsive.

“Instead of lawfully carrying out his critical public safety responsibilities, Mr. McIntosh used his position to obstruct the search for the truth,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute officers who cross the line and engage in criminal misconduct.”

McIntosh faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is set for April 8, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr.

The case was investigated by the Baltimore Division of the FBI and was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Ali Ahmad of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.