Eight inmates already held on murder charges joined two others in a coordinated stabbing inside the Fulton County Jail on June 1, using homemade knives to attack a fellow inmate while he was on the phone, according to a warrant obtained by 11Alive.
The attack occurred less than five months after Fulton County entered a federal consent decree to improve safety at the Rice Street facility, and just weeks after commissioners authorized a $1.36 billion renovation plan funded by property taxes from residents across the county, including Sandy Springs.
What the warrant says
The victim was using a telephone in a common area at approximately 2:35 p.m. when inmate Demonte Cargil approached without warning and began stabbing him with a shank, according to the warrant. Inmate Farley Samuel then joined with a second shank. Eight more inmates, each armed with their own homemade knife, moved in and stabbed the victim multiple times.
Jail staff took the victim to the facility's medical unit. The warrant says he suffered serious injuries but does not identify him or provide an update on his condition.
The 10 inmates named in the warrant are Demonte Cargil, Farley Samuel, Jakobe Moody, Jaylen Hill, Mason Bates, Davion Bailey, Tre'mon Palmer, Demarcus Gooden, Deshown Woodward, and Jaylan Michael Pryor. Eight were held on murder charges at the time. One faced an aggravated assault charge; another, armed robbery.
Investigation took six weeks
A Fulton County Sheriff's Office investigator began reviewing the case after receiving an email about the attack on June 1, the warrant states. The investigator reviewed evidence collected inside the jail and security camera footage.
On July 6, an officer assigned to the housing unit helped investigators review the recordings and identified the eight additional men who joined Cargil and Samuel. The officer was familiar with the inmates.
A Fulton County magistrate judge signed a warrant for Pryor on July 13, charging him with three felonies: aggravated assault, committing an unlawful act of violence inside a penal institution, and unauthorized possession of a prohibited item by an inmate. The warrant names the other nine as participants but does not include copies of warrants issued for them.
The Fulton County Sheriff's Office has not explained how 10 inmates obtained the weapons or whether any shanks were recovered. The office told 11Alive the investigation is still active.
Jail under federal scrutiny, billion-dollar overhaul
Federal investigators previously found the jail failed to adequately protect people in its custody from widespread violence. The U.S. Department of Justice documented inadequate staffing, dangerous weapons, and unsafe living conditions. Fulton County entered a consent decree with the DOJ in January 2025 to improve conditions at the facility, which opened in 1989.
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday, April 15 to authorize up to $1.36 billion in debt financing for the jail improvement program. The plan includes building a new 1,800-bed special-purpose facility and renovating the existing jail. On Monday, July 20, the South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail Authority voted 3-2 to authorize bond issuance for the project.
Palmetto Mayor Teresa Thomas-Smith, who voted against the bond authorization on July 20, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time: "Are you going to continue to put a band aid on a gunshot wound of a jail that people are being harmed in?"
The county will use general fund revenue, supported by property taxes from residents across Fulton County, to pay principal and interest on the bonds. No court date has been announced for Pryor or the other accused inmates.
