The two officers, Isaac Wood III and Trachell Syphax, are charged in connection with the assault of Rafael Jardines, 53.
TRENTON -- Authorities on Thursday announced details of the charges filed against two corrections officers in connection with the beating of an inmate at the Mercer County Correction Center.
The two officers, Isaac Wood III and Trachell Syphax, are engaged to be married, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement, citing corrections officials.
Both were suspended without pay shortly after the May 11 incident.
The Mercer County Correction Center in Hopewell Township in a file photo. Wood III, 40, of Ewing, is charged with two counts of official misconduct and one count of aggravated assault.
Syphax, 31, of Trenton, is charged with official misconduct.
Prosecutors alleged that Wood punched the inmate in the face, causing him to fall to the floor, then kicked him multiple times in the head and body.
A preliminary investigation found the inmate did not provoke or resist the officer, the statement said.
Syphax allegedly witnessed the assault and did not intervene, the statement said.
Both officers then allegedly filed false police reports regarding Wood's use of force on the inmate. Wood and Syphax were each charged on summons complaints, the statement said.
The inmate, Rafael Jardines, 53, was taken from the correction center in Hopewell Township to a Trenton hospital on the day of the incident, officials have said.
In the statement, the prosecutor's office said there's no evidence that Wood or Syphax were involved in an April 17 incident in which a a 22-year-old inmate was found hanging at the jail.
The inmate, Anthony Gyorffy, died on April 27, and his death has been ruled a suicide by a medical examiner, the prosecutor's office said.
The prosecutor's Internal Affairs Unit continues to investigate the Gyorffy incident.
State pension records show Wood has been an officer for 20 years and is making $89,560 annually. Syphax has been an officer for eight years and makes $68,845.
Records show Jardines was transferred from the Mercer jail to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold Township on May 20.
He was still at the Monmouth jail Thursday, being held for Mercer County and on a detainer from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE.
Jardines was sent to the Mercer jail following an April 29 arrest in Trenton by city police for criminal mischief and having outstanding warrants, records show.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.