Corrections officer sues inmate over brutal July attack at Jefferson City Correctional Center

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A former corrections officer at Jefferson City Correctional Center sued an inmate this week over a July beating that left the guard in a coma for six days.

Kent Riley and his wife, Jennifer Riley, filed the lawsuit this week in Cole County against Gavin D. Syring.

Syring was an inmate at the Jefferson City prison on July 19, when the attack happened. He was moved two days ago to Potosi Correctional Center, according to a Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman. He is serving an 18-year sentence for armed robbery, first-degree assault, armed criminal action and burglary.

The lawsuit says Syring attacked Riley when Riley ordered him to lock down in his cell. Riley suffered "severe and permanent injuries to his head, brain, side, and hip, and spent six days in a coma and on life support," according to the lawsuit. It's unknown if or when he'll be able to work again, the suit says, and his wife is now his caretaker.

The lawsuit petition did not detail the ways in which the attack left Riley disabled.

No hearings have been set in the case, and no attorney is listed for Syring in online court records.