Pueblo hospital guards charged with homicide in 2021 incident at St. Mary-Corwin

Four security guards at St. Mary-Corwin Hospital have been charged with negligent homicide in the death last year of a man who had sought care at the Pueblo medical center's emergency room.

Anthony Virant, Randy Vialpondo, Anthony Ruff, and Drake Castro were charged in November 2021 in connection with the death of Mathew Haskel Jones, who was severely injured at St. Mary-Corwin when hospital security guards allegedly used force on him, court records obtained by The Chieftain show.

The first Pueblo police officer to respond to a call for assistance from hospital staff reported seeing medical personnel performing CPR on Jones, blood on the floor, and blood coming from the victim's nose and mouth, according to an affidavit authored by police.

Jones died eight days after the incident in a Colorado Springs hospital where he had been taken for care.

An autopsy found the cause of death was lack of oxygen to the brain caused by cardiopulmonary arrest during physical restraint.

Dr. Emily Russel of the El Paso County Coroner's Office determined that the death was a homicide, court documents show. Russel said other factors, including morbid obesity, methamphetamine and probable cocaine intoxication, and an enlarged heart with cardiac fibrosis, a common finding in many forms of heart failure, also played a role in causing Jones' death.

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Vialpondo, one of the four security guards charged, said a confrontation began between the security officers and Jones after the patient was discharged from the emergency room.

Jones had "ripped the phone out of the wall" after nurses let him use it to call a taxi, one of the security guards testified. A nurse corroborated his statement.

After several attempts to get Jones to leave the hospital, the four guards pushed him toward the lobby and attempted to force him off the premises. Jones allegedly kicked the door in the lobby and fell on his back, at which point Virant said he and the other guards rolled him on his stomach and restrained him.

The guards said Virant laid his chest on Jones' back, Castro secured Jones' legs, and Vialpando and Ruff grabbed his left and right arms respectively.

However, surveillance camera footage obtained through a search warrant showed Virant putting his hands on Jones' throat, while the other guards lay on his legs and back and tried to control his arms. A police detective who helped to write the affidavit told a similar version of events.

The video footage showed the security officers talking with Jones for 18 minutes before a physical confrontation started. At no point before the four security officers began pushing Jones toward the door did Jones confront, assault, or threaten anyone, according to the footage.

Centura Health has declined to turn over several records to the police, including the human resources investigation file, according to the affidavit.

"Protecting patient and associate privacy is a value deeply rooted in our organization and as such, and due to privacy laws, we are not able to comment further on the circumstances surrounding this event. We have, and will continue to, cooperate with local authorities in this matter," a Centura statement provided to the Chieftain by spokeswoman Lindsay Radford said.

Jones left behind a wife and daughter, according to his obituary, which ran in the Chieftain on March 13.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for June 17.

This story was first reported by The Chieftain's media partner KRDO News Channel 13.

Suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at Jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo hospital guards at St. Mary-Corwin charged with homicide