BATON ROUGE - Two East Baton Rouge Parish inmates were arrested on rape charges after they reportedly sexually assaulted an inmate.

According to an affidavit, a 37-year-old inmate in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison was taken out of his bed, dragged into the middle of the dorm, beaten and kicked by multiple people, and then physically restrained before being sexually assaulted.

The inmate was taken to a hospital with numerous injuries, including fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. 

James Merritt, 22, and Letrell Baker, 20, were re-arrested on charges of first-degree rape and second-degree battery. 

If convicted, first-degree rape carries a mandatory life sentence. 

Merritt was arrested in 2025 for allegedly stealing a car with a child inside of it; he was facing charges of vehicle theft and simple kidnapping. 

Baker was arrested in 2024 in a shooting that paralyzed one person and injured another. He did not bond out of jail after his arrest and was booked on an additional charge of inciting a riot in 2025.