Defendant: Ishmael Ben Reuben (DOB 06/17/97)
Defendant: Carlos Yarborough (DOB 10/27/96)

May 16, 2018 -- Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. announced the indictment and arraignment of two Westchester County Jail inmates for the beating of a County Correction Officer while on duty April 27, 2018. Defendants Ishmael Ben Reuben, of Mount Vernon, and Carlos Yarborough, of Yonkers, have been charged each with two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, D violent felonies. If convicted, they face up to seven years in prison on each count. The defendants are scheduled for their next court appearance June 12, 2018.

The incident took place in Westchester County Jail April 27, 2018, at approximately 9:40 p.m. as inmates were being directed back to their cells for the night. The indictment alleges, the two defendants lingered in the hallway between the Day Room and their cell block, ignoring the orders of a Correction Officer and verbally threatening him. The incident escalated and both Ben Reuben and Yarborough violently attacked the officer, punching him repeatedly around the head and chest. The officer fell to the ground where the inmates kicked him and stomped on his head, fracturing his nose, and causing other injury. The officer, age 42, has worked for the Westchester County Department of Correction since September 2017. He has not returned to work.

Ben Reuben was incarcerated pending sentence after pleading guilty to charges of Attempted Robbery in the Second Degree and Assault in the Second Degree, both class D violent felonies. Yarborough was incarcerated pending sentencing after pleading guilty to charges of Assault in the First Degree and Robbery in the First Degree, both class B violent felonies.

Westchester Department of Correction Commissioner Joseph K. Spano stated: “I would like to thank District Attorney Scarpino and his staff, as well as the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, for their coordinated efforts which ensured these two individuals were charged both swiftly and appropriately. The safety of our facility is always our primary concern, and these indictments reinforce that assaults on staff carry serious consequences.”

Ishmael Ben Reuben

Carlos Yarborough

Ishmael Ben Reuben Carlos Yarborough

In compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.6, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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