The first of four trials of the corrections officers charged in the murder of Messiah Nantwi continues Tuesday morning, March 24 with opening statements and the first of many witnesses at the Oneida County Courthouse in Utica.
Jonah Levi, one of the corrections officers, is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, first-degree gang assault, second-degree gang assault, fifth-degree conspiracy and first-degree offering a false instrument for file.
Nantwi, while incarcerated at Mid-State Correctional Facility, was brutally beaten to death on March 1, 2025, by a Correction Emergency Response Team to the point of unresponsiveness and beaten twice more with his hands cuffed behind his back. After the death, a grand jury alleged the corrections officers got together to plant evidence and submit false testimony.
The Observer-Dispatch will cover the trial at the courthouse in Utica. Keep checking back here for updates.
End of day two
The second day of the Jonah Levi trial has ended and will continue on March 25, with cross-examination of National Guardsman Nicholas Mouzon by the defense.
Held down, beaten
National Guardsman Nicholas Mouzon said he saw CERT team members holding Messiah Nantwi’s body to the bed and someone punch him.
When questioned, Mouzon testified that after Nantwi was taken off the bed, he was placed face down.
“I could only see one CERT member by Nantwi’s feet,” Mouzon said. “He was tall, around 6’4″ and had a ballcap on. He had a brown, ginger-ish beard… He was standing Messiah Nantwi’s calves with his full weight. He had each foot on each calf and was striking his feet with a baton.”
When asked what Nantwi was doing at that time, Mouzon said he was struggling while he had mechanical restraints were on.
National Guardsman: Nantwi was calm
National Guardsman Nicholas Mouzon testified that Messiah Nantwi, when requested to stand near his bed for count, Nantwi instead went for the bathroom and the shower. When directed to go back to his bed, Mouzon said Nantwi replied with “What if I don’t want to?”
Mouzon said this interaction was done close, at least two feet away. “We approached in a passive and calm manner,” he said. “We explained that he needed to wait by his bedside. He kept asking ‘What if I don’t want to?'”
Mouzon added that Nantwi was talking with his hands and waved it around, but then another incarcerated individual approached. That’s when Mouzon said Nantwi pulled out a pencil, with the eraser pointed up “…like a knife.”
When questioned, Mouzon said that Nantwi didn’t make any threats and was still talking with his hands and had started angrily talking with the other incarcerated individual.
“We asked him to calm down, but he didn’t. Then my shift leader called ‘back-up, back-up,'” Mouzon said. “And then it’s like a switch was flipped and Nantwi calmed down instantly.”
When asked if Nantwi was relaxed at that point, Mouzon said yes and added that Nantwi returned to his room.
When the corrections officers responded and arrived on the scene, Mouzon said Nantwi was still calm, along with the rest of the incarcerated individuals.
“I let the [CERT team] in when they arrived,” Mouzon said. “Around 10 to 12 showed up. I went to the supply room, which was diagonally from Nantwi’s room. I then heard him asking again again ‘What did I do?'”
National Guardsman’s Testimony
When questioned as to how use-of-force is applied as a member of the National Guard, Nicholas Mouzon said it was of equal measured response; if an enemy is using a firearm, he would use a firearm.
Mouzon said around Feb. 22, he was mobilized to Mid-State Correctional Facility to assist in the day-to-day operations of the prison. When questioned by the prosecution, Mouzon said he received a 30-minute class on how to be a corrections officer and mostly revolved around use of force.
“We were to match the same amount of force that we were given. If they didn’t have a weapon, we were to use body holds. If they had a weapon, you would use a baton,” Mouzon said. “Once the mechanical restraints went on, the use of force is to stop.”
After that 30-minute training, Mouzon said they were put on 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. shifts.
Third witness called
Nicholas Mouzon, a member of the 11 Bravo Infantry Unit of the National Guard, was called as a witness in the murder trial against Jonah Levi
Investigator’s testimony
Investigator Olivia Tabor said she retrieved body-worn cameras; starting with three. Tabor added that after reviewing footage, additional cameras of interest were identified and gathered for evidence.
Additionally, Tabor said she collected security footage from Raspberries Cafe in New Hartford and when questioned, said she collected that footage after investigation pointed towards a meeting of corrections employees at the cafe.
“We spoke with the owner regarding out investigation and allowed us to retrieve the footage,” Tabor said.
Second witness called
The second witness in the murder trial of Jonah Levi has been called.
Olivia Tabor, an investigator with the New York State Police, was called to share her investigations at the Mid-State Correctional Facility following the death of Messiah Nantwi.
No bodycams worn
After the death of Robert Brooks at the hand of corrections officers at Marcy Correctional Facility less than half a mile away from Mid-State, Gov. Kathy Hochul instituted a new requirement that all corrections officers interacting with inmates are required to wear a body-worn camera and for it to be on.
According to the prosecution, none of the CERT team were wearing their body-worn cameras.
DOCCS assistant commissioner testimony
Christopher Martuscello, the assistant commissioner and assistant chief of investigations at the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision was questioned by the prosecution and read from the DOCCS policy, reading the policy on use of force in general.
Use of force is limited only when needed and the policy says that high impact force, such as kicks to the heads and neck restraints, are against the policy.
Additionally, Martuscello outlined the policy on duty to intervene, which states that if one staff member witnesses another staff member use force they believe is excessive, they have a right and duty to intervene.
First witness called
The first witness has been called in the Messiah Nantwi case; Christopher Martuscello, the assistant commissioner and assistant chief of investigations at the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
“He was high on synthetic marijuana… fighting back… and biting”
Defense Attorney Graeme Spicer said in his opening statement that Nantwi was the aggressor and that he was “…waving around a pencil” as a weapon and that there is testimony about what happens in the dorm room.
“There’s a few things I want you to keep in mind when listening to these testimonies,” Spicer said. “Think about their motivations for giving these testimonies and I don’t think you’ll be able to believe them.”
Opening Statement: Defense
Defense Attorney Graeme Spicer said that Special Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick made “…multiple promises” to what he would prove and said the special prosecutor will be proven wrong.
“A couple things can be true,” Spicer said. “Any use of force, multiple uses of force used against Messiah Nantwi was justified given the circumstances. The second thing that can also be true is that Jonah Levi did not employ any force that resulted in Messiah Nantwi’s death.”
Messiah Nantwi’s cause of death
Among the witnesses that Special Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick said he will call will be the medical examiner who oversaw Messiah Nantwi’s autopsy. Fitzpatrick said that this medical examiner will testify that Nantwi received 69 different body blows from 10 different individuals, compression to his neck, and died due to massive wounds to his head.
Falsified use-of-force reports and conspiracies
Among Levi’s charges is conspiracy in the fifth degree. Special Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick said that Levi “…pleaded” with other corrections officers to omit him from their use of force-of-force reports.
Additionally, Fitzpatrick says that the corrections officers involved had a meeting at Raspberries in New Hartford, where they “…would get their stories straight” and “…make sure that no one takes any deals and sinks this ship.”
“They didn’t get rid of their boots”
In opening statements, Special Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick said that Messiah Nantwi’s cell and the infirmary were cleaned up of blood and evidence.
However, the special prosecutor said the boots that Jonah Levi wore during the beating that had Nantwi’s DNA on them.
Opening Statements: Prosecution
Special Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick said in his opening statement that it was the purpose to come out better than when they enter but instead, Messiah Nantwi did not come out at all.
“The National Guard and the corrections officers scheduled what is called a count. And it’s exactly what it sounds like. They count the incarcerated individuals,” Fitzpatrick said. “Just before the count, another corrections officer was doing their rounds and you will see his body worn camera. At 10:53 a.m., he leaves the building where Messiah Nantwi is quiet and copesthetic.”
However, shortly after this, one of the National Guardsman notices that Nantwi is not getting ready for the count.
“In a matter of minutes, the National Guardsman is in a verbal argument with Messiah Nantwi,” Fitzpatrick said. “And what happened in that next half an hour was catastrophic and ridiculous that it even occurred.”
Fitzpatrick said Levi was sitting with several other Corrections Emergency Response Team members when they hear “back-up” said multiple times. The back-up was called by the National Guardsman, Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick said that Messiah Nantwi was back in his cell with his hands up when the CERT team entered.
“No one took the time to ascertain what was going on,” Fitzpatrick said. “You don’t walk into a scene and escalate. The big crime if they asked was that Nantwi acted up to an untrained National Guardsman and then went back into his cell.”
Fitzpatrick continued, saying there was no cooperation and no coordination, just several CERT officers “…beating the crap out of a 180 pound man.”
Start of Day 2: Opening Statements and Witnesses
The trial of Jonah Levi continues on March 24 as the jury and Judge Michael Nolan hear the opening statements and witness testimony.
End of Day 1: Jury Selection
A total of 12 jurors and three alternates were chosen and sworn in on Monday.
Jurors were questioned by both Special Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick and Defense Attorney Graeme Spicer. After the first round of questioning, 11 jurors remained. The second round concluded with one more juror and three alternates.
Who is on trial in the death of Messiah Nantwi and why
Jonah Levi, one of the corrections officers, stands charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, first-degree gang assault, second-degree gang assault, fifth-degree conspiracy and first-degree offering a false instrument for file. His trial is set to begin March 23.
According to an indictment, at around 11 a.m. March 1, 2025, a request for assistance was broadcast by the National Guard, resulting in a response from the Mid-State Corrections Emergency Response Team. The Guard was in place at the prison to supplment striking corrections officers.
Special Prosecutor William Fitzpatrick said in April 2025 that a grand jury found that Nantwi was told to return to his room, and refused before finally going back to his cell.
Two minutes after the call, the indictment said the defendants entered Nantwi’s room and began to beat Nantwi. To Fitzpatrick’s knowledge, none of the CERT team members were wearing mandated body cameras.
The indictment said Nantwi was beaten to the point of being unresponsive and dragged toward the infirmary and down three flights of stairs. The grand jury alleged that during this trip, Nantwi was assaulted again in the stairwell.
How did Messiah Nantwi die?
Even after two assaults and with his hands cuffed behind his back, Nantwi was placed into an infirmary holding cell and assaulted again, according to court documents. The indictment said he was struck in the cell by Corrections Officer Caleb Blair.
“As a result of the numerous beatings by defendants and their fellow corrections officers, incarcerated individual Messiah Nantwi died due to massive head trauma and numerous other injuries,” the indictment reads.
Fitzpatrick said there are “fragments” of Nantwi’s entrance into the infirmary on a body-worn camera and that there was enough to be able to name the individuals involved.
“It seems many of the officers intentionally either turned off their cameras, placed them in an area of concealment, or simply looked the other way,” he explained.
A call for an ambulance was made at 11:36 a.m., and at 11:47 a.m., Nantwi was declared dead.
According to the indictment, Nantwi was left unattended in the holding cell and no one checked on him, thus demonstrating ” … a depraved indifference to the life of incarcerated individual Messiah Nantwi.
The indictment says that after Nantwi was taken away by ambulance, Sgts. Francis Chandler and David Ferrone ordered the defendants into Building 3. There, Levi “ … pleaded” for all those assembled to omit him from their 2104A reports — a report made after an incarcerated person dies in custody to determine who was there, what force was used, what force was witnessed.
How the cases have progressed in the death of Messiah Nantwi
Nicholas Vitale, Joshua Bartlett, Nathan Palmer, Daniel Burger, David Ferrone, Francis Chandler, Adam Joseph, Donald Slawson, Frank Jacobs, and Michael Iffert have all pleaded guilty to lesser charges, with some, like Chandler, pleading to second-degree gang assault to avoid a trial for a second-degree murder charge.
Other correction officers facing trial in death of Messiah Nantwi
Three other corrections officers will be going to trial in the coming months.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Witnesses start testifying in CO’s trial in Nantwi killing
Reporting by Casey Pritchard, Utica Observer Dispatch / Observer-Dispatch
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