St. Croix Prison Guards Convicted of Inmate Abuse and Falsifying Reports of the Assault

ST. CROIX — Two former correctional officers have been convicted of assaulting an inmate and obstructing an FBI investigation at the John A. Bell Correctional Facility in St. Croix. United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced the convictions of Maxwell Bryan, 53, and Elvin Bloice, 72, following an eight-day federal jury trial.

The jury found Bryan guilty of depriving an inmate of his rights under color of law by physically assaulting him, and both Bryan and Bloice guilty of obstructing justice. Bloice received an additional conviction for making materially false statements to the FBI.

According to trial evidence, the incident occurred on September 17, 2021, when Bryan responded to the inmate’s refusal to return to his cell by physically assaulting him—punching him twice in the forehead and choking him inside the cell. During the assault, Bloice was reported to have stood in front of the cell, partially closing the door to block the view of the facility’s surveillance cameras.

The motivations for the assault were linked to a prior incident on August 23, 2021, involving the same inmate, who had kicked the door of Bryan’s vehicle, leading to a retaliatory attack by Bryan.