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WILKES-BARRE — An inmate who county officials say died Monday following an altercation inside the Luzerne County Correctional Facility has a lengthy criminal history, including a guilty plea to charges he fought off police while clutching an infant he stole from a Sherman Hills apartment.
County manager David Pedri had identified the inmate as Tracy Gilliam at a news conference Monday evening, hours after the prison went into lockdown. Officials Tuesday confirmed the inmate’s correct name as Timothy Darnelle Gilliam Jr.
Gilliam and a 25-year-old guard died after the brief altercation Monday. Details have not been released, and the matter remains under investigation by law enforcement.
A search of Luzerne County Court records and criminal docket sheets shows Gilliam, 27 — last known address of South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre — has pleaded guilty to sexual assault, interference with custody of children, simple assault, endangering the welfare of children and resisting arrest since 2007.
Police say Gilliam was under the influence of synthetic drugs and was acting “extremely bizarre” when city officers in October 2011 found him on Northhampton Street, holding the 14-month-old infant in his arms and cursing at people walking by.
Officers attempted to pry the infant from Gilliam’s arms and subdue him, but Gilliam fought back and had to be hit with a Taser at least three times, according to a criminal complaint. Court records show Luzerne County Judge Fred A. Pierantoni III sentenced him to 10 to 23 months in county prison for the offense.
A month before that incident, Gilliam allegedly punched and kicked his then-girlfriend inside an apartment at 320 N. Empire Court. He was sentenced to 12 months probation on a misdemeanor simple assault charge.
In 2007, Gilliam was charged with two counts of rape and one count each of statutory sexual assault, sexual assault and corruption of minors after police said he raped a 14-year-old girl. According to a criminal complaint, Gilliam raped the girl while she was sleeping inside a residence on Dougher Lane on Nov. 4, 2007.
The girl told police she was inside the residence with Gilliam and two other people who fell asleep in a second-floor bedroom. The girl said she fell asleep on a couch and was awakened by Gilliam, who was sexually assaulting her, the criminal complaint says.
Gilliam pleaded guilty the following year and was sentenced to six to 18 months in prison by former county judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr.
Records further show Gilliam was charged in March with failure to register as a sex offender with Pennsylvania State Police.
Arrest papers filed in February say the building Gilliam most recently listed as his home address, 425 S. Main St., had been a furniture store for nearly a year. He was charged for failing to notify authorities he changed his address, and his next court date was scheduled for September.
While jailed at the county prison in 2014, Gilliam filed a federal lawsuit against two guards alleging mistreatment. He claimed in the complaint he was mocked for his religious beliefs and guards failed to do anything about two inmates he claimed were beaten.
The lawsuit, in which Gilliam represented himself, was dismissed a month later after Gilliam failed to pay the $400 filing fee, court records show.
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