Former EMDC correctional officer Greg Langford took the stand in a London court on Thursday and described the events leading up to Adam Kargus's death.
He is testifying a the trial of former Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre operational manager Stephen Jurkus and guard Leslie Lonsbary.
They have been charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life in Kargus's death. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Langford says hours before Kargus was killed on Oct. 31, 2013 he saw his cellmate Anthony George and the 29-year-old Kargus involved in horseplay.
“[George] started to choke Adam Kargus...I asked Mr. George to let go of Adam Kargus and he did...At the time I saw it as a practical joke...I saw it as horseplay.”
Langford told the court nothing else was noted about the incident.
He also told the court that while doing his rounds with nurse Mary Barbe, "I smelled the distinct odour of alcohol...and I made mention to Mary that it smelled like alcohol, she had smelled it as well."
He says he made Lonsbary aware that there might be something brewing and as his shift was ending he also spoke with Jurkus.
"I said, 'I think there's a possible brew in Cell 3, Unit 6'...and Mr. Jurkus said something like, 'There's no room in [segregation], they'll have to sleep it off.'"
Kargus was beaten to death in his cell that night. His body was found the following morning in the communal shower area.
Anthony George pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death.
While Langford was initially also charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life in the case, the charge was dropped during preliminary hearings.
