OKEECHOBEE — Two Okeechobee County Jail inmates were charged with battery on another inmate after allegedly trying to shake him down for his commissary items and then beating him up when he refused to turn them over.

On Jan. 28, Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Broughton responded to the jail in reference to a complaint. When he arrived, he made contact with the complainant, who told him he was in the shower when he was approached by James Laton Edison and Mauro Seca. He said the two men told him to hand over all his commissary items or they would jump him. When he refused to give them his food items, he was tackled to the ground and repeatedly punched. Seca then took his commissary bag and left the room.

Both Edison and Seca refused to speak with Broughton about the matter. Edison was charged with battery on an inmate. Seca was charged with battery on an inmate and petit theft.

Edison is in jail waiting trial on charges of the sale/manufacture/delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park. His bond on the new charge was set at $2,500.

Seca is in jail on charges of felony battery with prior convictions and violation of a domestic violence injunction. His bond on the new charges was set at $3,000.