Polk County Sheriff charges inmate with murder of man on suicide watch

BARTOW — Polk County Sheriff’s detectives on Wednesday charged John Smith, 36, with killing fellow inmate Shaun Seaman at the Polk County Jail after they say he was “severely stomped” until he fell into a coma.

An autopsy showed that Seaman, 40, suffered blunt force trauma to his head, including a skull fracture and multiple contusions on his brain. He died on Friday, May 21 at Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where he was rushed after being found on May 13, unresponsive and bleeding in a cell for inmates on suicide watch.

Jail officials called his family on Wednesday, May 19, to be with him when he died.

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“The investigation showed that Smith, unprovoked, stomped Mr. Seaman causing his death,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release. The sheriff’s department oversees the jail. “We are looking forward to the criminal justice system holding Smith responsible for the murder of Shaun Seaman. Our prayers are with Mr. Seaman’s family.”   

Timeline of events

On May 9, Seaman had himself Baker Acted into Lakeland Regional, telling medical personnel there that he was suicidal after his girlfriend called police to say he had punched her. His family, meanwhile, say he was defending himself from her.   

On May 12, when he was released from the hospital, Deputy Mark Pothier took him into custody at the hospital and transported him to the South County Jail in Frostproof. His booking sheet shows he was immediately placed on suicide watch in the jail’s medical unit. He was put into a cell with three other men, who were also on suicide watch, including Smith. 

Polk County Sheriff’s spokesman Scott Wilder said last week it is standard protocol to keep inmates on suicide watch together because “they help watch each other and can help prevent an attempted suicide from happening.” 

He added that keeping inmates in solitary confinement can “negatively affect mental and physical health.” 

Jail records Wilder provided to The Ledger show guards or medical personnel checked on the inmates in that cell every 15 minutes — sometimes more frequently — between 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. There was one 20-minute gap and one 18-minute gap. 

Just before 3:30 p.m. on May 13, Wilder said a nurse and detention deputy were distributing medication to the inmates in the S Medical dorm, including Seaman and the other three inmates in Room 2. The deputy saw inmate John Ward Smith, 36, of Lakeland standing above another inmate, whose name was not released. Smith’s foot was on the neck of that inmate, who was lying on the floor. The deputy immediately entered the cell and separated those two inmates, taking them to different cells. The unidentified inmate had a bruised lip and knot on his head, although he was not seriously injured. At that time, Seaman was observed asleep on a mattress. 

At 7:40 p.m., a guard found Seaman unresponsive with blood on his mattress and called for medical staff and an ambulance. Wilder said Seaman, whom he only identified as inmate 1, had a swollen eye, and swelling and bleeding of the brain. 

The inmate who was allegedly beaten by Smith told deputies that “prior to Smith battering him, and both of them being removed to a different cell, he never witnessed anyone batter” Seaman. But, the inmate stated, he did leave the cell for a period of time to see the nurse. 

Smith refused to cooperate with investigators. It is not clear if Smith was brought back into that cell after being removed.

Smith’s criminal record

Records on file with the Polk County Clerk of Courts show Smith has been through the court system and jail beginning in the early 2000s with drug arrests and convictions, but gradually escalating to increasingly violent crimes. 

Last year, Smith was arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — a firearm — aggravated battery, driving with a suspended license and reckless driving causing property damage and/or injury, along with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  

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In November, he was charged with battery on a person in a detention facility. An arrest affidavit shows he beat up another inmate, giving them a cut lip and a swollen eye. 

About a month ago, Smith was arrested for felony domestic violence. An arrest affidavit shows he put his pregnant wife in a chokehold and pulled her to the ground. An investigator with Lakeland Police saw bruising on Smith’s wife.  

That affidavit also states that Smith is the primary suspect in the murder of his cousin, saying their relationship had grown increasingly violent after Smith tried to get into his cousin’s home when the cousin was away and his girlfriend was home alone with her children. 

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“The victim and his family believed that Smith was trying to get to one of the children for unknown reasons, but it was implied that he was possibly attracted sexually to them,” the affidavit reads. “In recent months, Smith has been vocal in making threats to kill the victim. Family members stated Smith’s recent behavior has been erratic with hallucinations that he’s been seeing ‘demons,’ possibly due to the abuse of illegal narcotics.” 

The affidavit does not include the murder victim’s name, nor the date of the murder, and Lakeland Police officials declined to provide that information, saying it is still under investigation. 

Jail deaths 

In the last five years, 30 people have died at Polk County Jail facilities, 26 of natural causes. Polk County Sheriff’s officials said in 2017, two inmates died from suicide. In 2020, another inmate also committed suicide.   

Last year, inmate Shawn Holliday, Jr., was murdered. Investigators said 20-year-old Brett Crosby and 41-year-old Christopher Jackson got into a fight with Holliday on a second-floor landing and that Crosby repeatedly stomped on Holliday’s head before guards could reach the area of the fight. 

Last month, Crosby pleaded no contest and was found guilty of second-degree murder, while attempted first-degree murder charges against Jackson were dropped.

Seaman’s family 

Seaman’s family is distraught over his death and say jail officials are responsible. They have since retained Dade City attorney Bobbi Madonna. 

“I find it troublesome, considering Mr. Smith’s long criminal history coupled with the timeline in regard to what occurred on May 13th,” Madonna said. “The facts, according to the spokesperson: at 3:30 they find Mr. Smith standing above another inmate with his foot on his neck. My client is not found …for four hours. The timeline coupled with Mr. Smith’s history would cause anyone to be troubled.” 

Madonna said she is in the early stages of investigating the case and Smith’s background. 

Seaman’s family did not respond to a request for comment. 

Ledger reporter Kimberly C. Moore can be reached at kmoore@theledger.com or 863-802-7514. Follow her on Twitter at @KMooreTheLedger.