Documents reveal suspect in jailhouse death has history of violent jail beatings
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REXBURG —- The suspect in the death of 62-year-old Madison County Jail inmate Eddie Blanie Stacey has a violent history in eastern Idaho jails.
Court records obtained by EastIdahoNews.com show Robert Pompa, 26, left an inmate in the Bannock County Jail bloodied and curled up in a cell. For the June 2020 incident, a judge sentenced Pompa to spend between five and 10 years in prison.
In the 2020 beating, Pompa told jail staff said he attacked the inmate because the man was a “chow-mo,” a term used in jails and prisons for child molesters. The man attacked did receive a sentence for the sex abuse of a child and failure to register as a sex offender, according to court records.
More investigation at the jail in 2020 showed Pompa also attacked an elderly inmate at around the same time who was facing a federal sex offense charge.
After being sentenced for the attack and other unrelated violent crimes, Pompa was federally charged for drug trafficking-related crimes and booked into the Madison County Jail in March. The jail often houses federal inmates as they await trial, sentencing and transfer to federal prisons.
Pompa pleaded guilty in April to possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
While Pompa was in custody in Madison County, court records show Pompa was cited for misdemeanor battery for an incident on July 17. Details of the incident were not publicly available. A Madison County Sheriff’s Office spokesman did not respond to EastIdahoNews.com’s request for comment.
Pompa was still awaiting sentencing on the federal charge when on Oct. 8, Stacey “was mortally wounded” after “an altercation” between inmates. The sheriff’s office did not identify the suspect as Pompa until Thursday after EastIdahoNews.com discovered his identity and requested his mugshot.
Court records show Stacey was serving a 90-day sentence after pleading guilty on Sept. 7 to misdemeanor DUI and misdemeanor having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle. Unlike the two inmates attacked in 2020, Stacey was not a sex offender.
“He (Eddie) was not a trouble maker,” Stacey’s brother Doug Stacey told EastIdahoNews.com. “It’s just hard for us to understand why a person would do something like that.”
On Thursday the Sheriff’s Office said Sheriff Rick Henry and Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood received the investigating report regarding the incident. It was not clear what the sheriff’s office and prosecutors would do with that report.
A request for comment from Wood has not been returned.
The federal sentencing for Pompa is scheduled for Nov. 4. Possession of a firearm in the furtherance of drug trafficking crimes is punishable by five years to life in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr who oversees the handling of Pompa’s federal case could not be reached for comment.
A graveside service for Stacey was held Friday at the Sutton Cemetery. The Stacey family says people interested in helping cover the costs of Stacey’s services can contact Eckersell Funeral Home in Rigby at (208) 745-6604.