The family of a 17-year-old Douglas boy who died from injuries suffered August 9, 2022, while an inmate at the Regional Youth Detention Center in Waycross have been awarded $4.5 million in the settlement of a wrongful death complaint.
The law firm of Savage, Turner, Pinckney, Savage, Sprouse & Gilluly, who represented the parents, announced the settlement against The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice in a media release. Included in the October 21 release were documents, photos, as well as video and audio recordings as evidence in the case.
The civil complaint was filed August 17, 2023 in United States District Court Southern District of Georgia on behalf of the surviving parents of Loyce Tucker. The suit alleged Loyce died as the result of injuries suffered in a “fight game” with another inmate that was staged with the knowledge of center personnel.
The Savannah firm represented plaintiffs Ashlie Muncey and Jonathan Tucker in the suit, and Muncey as administrator of the estate of the deceased minor. Defendants were the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Thomas Lee Hick, Jr., and Jimmy Moore, each employees of the GDJJ at the time of the incident that led to Tucker’s death two days later at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah.
A medical examiner ruled the teen’s cause of death as a vertebral artery dissection, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, Hicks was a juvenile correctional sergeant at the center while Moore was its director.
On August 18, 2022, a juvenile complaint for involuntary manslaughter was brought by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for the juvenile involved in the fight that resulted in the death of the victim.
One week after the fight and five days after the victim passed away, Hicks was arrested by the GBI and charged with two counts of Cruelty to Children, one count of Second Degree Murder, and a Violation of Oath of Office. He was also fired from DJJ.
Hicks was indicted in July 2023 on six felony counts, including Murder (2nd degree), one count of Cruelty to Children, three counts of Influencing a Witness, and one count of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer.
The Influencing a Witness charges stem from Hicks’ alleged attempts to prevent juvenile detainees from speaking with law enforcement about the case, to include instructing the juveniles to lie about the circumstances of the death.
That case has still not been adjudicated and remains pending. Court records show Hicks appeared in court earlier this month and his attorney is challenging the indictment.
According to the complaint, Hicks encouraged the fight between two juveniles. To hide from the cameras, Hicks unlocked a closet and entered it with the boys. The boys fought in the closet.
During the fight, a juvenile inmate forcefully struck the victim inmate in the neck, which caused the victim to lose consciousness.
The guard and other juveniles carried the unconscious body from the closet into the shower room where the guard splashed water on the victim and slapped him in the face, in an effort to “wake him up.”
No calls were made to Ware County 911 for at least 10 minutes, according to documents, and the victim was eventually taken to a local hospital. Later in the day, he was airlifted to Memorial Hospital in Savannah where he died.
The fight that resulted in the civil action was not the first, the investigation revealed.
Hicks and other correctional officers at the RYDC had arranged, permitted, and encouraged juvenile inmates to fight one another on multiple occasions before the fight at issue. Some guards referred to the “fight game” simply as “horseplay.”
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