Inmate charged with murder of prison cellmate identified by Ada County Sheriff’s Office
A 25-year-old Meridian man has been arrested after his cellmate was allegedly beaten to death at the Idaho State Correctional Institution south of Boise early Saturday morning.
Colton J. Reagan was charged with first-degree murder, according to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 2:25 a.m. Saturday, prison officials discovered there had been a fight in Reagan’s cell. His cellmate, 57-year-old Gerald B. Cummings Jr., was unresponsive “with injuries that appeared consistent with a beating,” Idaho Department of Correction’s initial news release said.
Cummings was pronounced dead at 3:38 a.m. Saturday, the release said.
Ada County Sheriff’s Office detectives collected evidence and conducted interviews. Reagan and Cummings Jr. were the only two people in the cell at the time of the altercation, according to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies arrested Reagan on Saturday morning. Prison officials moved Reagan to a different cell on the Department of Correction campus, according to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office. He made an initial court appearance Monday afternoon. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 21.
Reagan was convicted of possession of a controlled substance in July 2019 and grand theft earlier this year, both felonies. He is currently scheduled to be released in February 2027, according to Department of Correction records.
Cummings was serving out three sentences for possession of a controlled substance convictions in Twin Falls County District Court, according to court records. He would have completed his final sentence in July 2025, according to IDOC records.
This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 4:12 PM.
