PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Three Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputies were arrested after an internal criminal investigation into allegations that an inmate was battered inside the PBSO Main Detention Center and that jail records were later falsified to cover up what happened.
The arrests involve Corrections Deputy Aljhady Acevedo, Deputy Dennis Wayne Smikle and Sergeant Travis Avery Faller. Jail records show all three were booked on May 5, 2026, by PBSO.
The case centers on an alleged July 4, 2024 incident inside South 10C at the PBSO Main Detention Center, located at 3228 Gun Club Road in West Palm Beach. According to the probable cause affidavit, investigators began reviewing the matter after an inmate reported a possible Prison Rape Elimination Act violation and also alleged that Acevedo had punched a handcuffed inmate.
Investigators later identified the inmate as Eric Morales-Pena. The affidavit says multiple inmates told investigators they saw Acevedo strike Morales-Pena while he was restrained in handcuffs. The document says Morales-Pena sustained visible swelling and bruising to his left eye.
Acevedo was booked on several charges listed in the arrest paperwork, including battery, tampering with a witness or victim, official misconduct, conspiracy to commit official misconduct, forgery-related charges, false imprisonment and perjury not in an official proceeding. His jail booking entry also lists charges including false statement by a public servant falsifying an official document, tampering with a witness, false imprisonment and battery.
Smikle and Faller were each booked on a false statement charge tied to the investigation, according to jail records provided with the arrest documents. Both were listed as released on surety bond later May 5. Acevedo was listed as housed at the Main Detention Center with no release date shown in the booking entry provided.
The affidavit says Acevedo entered the South 10C housing unit to conduct count after another deputy was late for duty. Investigators wrote that Acevedo saw Morales-Pena and another inmate, Luis Alvarez, seated on the same bunk playing cards and placed both in handcuffs after they did not comply with the count announcement.
Morales-Pena complained that his handcuffs were too tight, according to the affidavit. Acevedo allegedly told him to “take them off.” Morales-Pena said he chuckled and replied that he could not. Investigators wrote that Acevedo then approached and struck him four times in the face while he remained handcuffed.
The affidavit also says Smikle was seated at the officer’s station during the incident and did not intervene. Investigators wrote that Smikle initially denied seeing Acevedo strike Morales-Pena, but later admitted in a sworn interview that he saw Acevedo strike him once. The affidavit says Smikle did not report the incident, did not offer medical assistance and did not initiate an emergency signal.
Investigators also wrote that Faller responded to the South 10th floor after the incident. Morales-Pena told investigators he informed Faller that Acevedo had battered him. The affidavit says Morales-Pena was later taken to the jail’s medical unit and told medical staff he had fallen in the shower, after allegedly being pressured to use that explanation.
The affidavit says investigators found that a Department of Corrections Incident Report was created on Faller’s PBSO desktop computer and falsely attributed to Smikle. The report allegedly described a shower fall that investigators say did not happen. Smikle signed the report, and Faller signed it as the approving supervisor, according to the affidavit.
A second part of the investigation involved inmate Jose Sipacbatzibal, who investigators said had complained about what happened to Morales-Pena. The affidavit says Acevedo later authored jail paperwork claiming Sipacbatzibal was suicidal, which led to his placement in the jail’s mental health unit under suicide observation. Sipacbatzibal denied making the suicidal statement, according to the affidavit, and investigators wrote that other inmates and another deputy corroborated that denial.
The affidavit says a licensed clinical psychologist later assessed Sipacbatzibal and noted he showed no signs of psychiatric imbalance or psychological issues. He was returned to South 10C the next day.
The allegations remain pending in court. The arrest paperwork states investigators found probable cause for the listed charges, but the charges are accusations at this stage and do not constitute convictions.
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