Correctional Sergeant Pleads Guilty to Assault and Justice Obstruction

Jose Gonzalez admitted to assaulting a handcuffed detainee in a jail 'blind spot' and conspiring to conceal the incident from federal investigators

NEWARK — A Passaic County correctional officer has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from the 2021 assault of a pretrial detainee and subsequent efforts to conceal the incident from investigators. Sergeant Jose Gonzalez, 46, entered the plea on May 28, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court.

Gonzalez admitted to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. The charges arise from a coordinated assault on January 23, 2021, at the Passaic County Jail (PCJ), during which Gonzalez and other officers led a detainee—handcuffed at the time—into a surveillance-free corridor, known within the jail as a “blind spot.” There, Gonzalez and Sergeant Donald Vinales struck the detainee multiple times, knocking him to the ground. The attack followed an incident the previous day in which the detainee had thrown a mixture containing urine at another officer.

The detainee sustained injuries requiring treatment at a local hospital, yet Gonzalez and his co-defendants—Vinales and Correctional Officer Lorenzo Bowden—failed to submit any documentation of the use of force, as required by jail policy.

Federal authorities later learned that Gonzalez made false statements during a March 2022 interview and participated in a meeting the following month in which he and others agreed not to cooperate with the investigation. During that meeting, participants also agreed to deny the assault occurred. Officer Bowden subsequently repeated these falsehoods in an October 2022 interview.

All three officers involved have now pleaded guilty. Bowden pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to obstruct justice and awaits sentencing. Vinales entered guilty pleas to both charges on May 21, 2025, and is also awaiting sentencing.

Gonzalez faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the civil rights violation and 20 years for conspiracy to obstruct justice, along with fines up to $250,000. His sentencing is scheduled for October 22, 2025.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Newark Field Office, led by Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, and the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office Division of Internal Affairs under Sheriff Thomas Adamo. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin and Senior Trial Counsel R. Joseph Gribko are prosecuting the case.