Idaho inmate gets life in prison after ‘brutally’ beating cellmate to death in 2021
A 26-year-old Meridian man was sentenced to up to life in prison for “brutally” killing his 57-year-old cellmate in 2021, according to a news release from the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
On Friday, 4th District Judge Samuel Hoagland sentenced Colton J. Reagan to life imprisonment, with 30 years fixed. Reagan waived his right to appeal the sentence as part of a plea deal to first-degree murder last December.
In the early morning hours of Dec. 11, 2021, prison officials at the Idaho State Correctional Institution south of Boise responded to Reagan’s cell and found his cellmate, Gerald B. Cummings Jr., unresponsive. According to the initial news release from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Cummings sustained injuries “that appeared consistent with a beating.”
Prison staff performed life-saving measures until paramedics arrived, but Cummings was pronounced dead just after 3:30 a.m.
The Idaho Statesman previously reported that Reagan was incarcerated at the time for felony convictions of possession of a controlled substance and grand theft. The Ada prosecutor’s office said Reagan refused to participate in the rehabilitative programming offered during retained jurisdiction and was then sentenced to a prison term. He would have been eligible to be released in 2027.
The prosecutor’s office also said Reagan had documented violent conduct while in custody.
“I extend my sincere condolences to Mr. Cummings’ family,” Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in a press release. “Thank you for the hard work done on this case by my trial team and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.”
