Surveillance video captures Westmoreland Prison guard's involvement in assault, detectives say

A man being held at the Westmoreland County Prison testified that he started locking his cell door on C Unit after two other prisoners began picking on him.

That’s what he did Aug. 20 when he took a nap on the top bunk of his cell in the Hempfield facility. But the pair got in and pulled him to the ground.

“I was sleeping, and two guys came into my cell,” testified Efrain Nicolas Fernandez, 45, adding that he went to a hospital to get checked out after the assault.

Westmoreland County Detectives James Williams and jail Lt. William McKay testified Tuesday that former guard Brian J. Prinkey, 25, of Connellsville was seen on surveillance video communicating with the two inmates and opening the door to Fernandez Nicolas’ cell from a control panel. Charges of conspiracy and oppression against him were ordered held for court during a preliminary hearing.

About 40 minutes before the attack, Williams said, Prinkey appears to have a conversation with a group of men being held at the jail, including Vincent T. Green, 30, of New Kensington and Nicholas Haynes, 26, of Mt. Pleasant. Prinkey had a smile on his face as he walked away, Williams said.

Prinkey was later seen watching his partner walk out of the unit, McKay said. It was a time of day prisoners are free to congregate in a common area or be in their cells. The doors lock from the inside.

“(Fernandez Nicolas’) door was actually locked at that point in the day,” McKay testified.

The video showed Prinkey open the door from the control panel.

“He hit the door, stepped away … and gave a thumbs up” while looking in the direction of Green and Haynes, McKay said.

Green stood watch at the cell door and Haynes beat Fernandez Nicolas, according to testimony. They stopped when Prinkey came to the area, and he later met with the pair at a different cell.

“One individual gave me the whole story of what I would observe on the video, and it played out almost verbatim,” Williams testified.

Prinkey denied the allegations during an interview with Williams. He is free on $100,000 unsecured bail. His employment was terminated.

Both Haynes and Green waived their rights to preliminary hearings on previous dates. They are awaiting formal arraignment on charges of conspiracy. Haynes faces an additional aggravated assault charge. Haynes was acquitted last year in an Arnold shooting. He was being held at the jail in connection with two cases, including a robbery and burglary in Greensburg.

Green was at the jail on a drug case filed by Arnold police.