State Police Lt. Jennifer Penton pleaded not guilty to a perjury charge Wednesday that stemmed from an investigation into the 2024 death of trooper trainee Enrique Delgado-Garcia.
Penton was released on personal recognizance after being arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on the condition that she not have contact with witnesses in the case.
The lieutenant was arraigned earlier this month on a manslaughter charge for her alleged involvement in the death of Delgado-Garcia following an academy boxing match.
Penton was the supervisor of the Defensive Tactics Unit, which oversaw the boxing matches.
The Commonwealth has argued that Penton and three other troopers acted negligently in overseeing the boxing program, leading to Delgado-Garcia’s death. They allegedly orchestrated an under-supervised sparring match on Sept. 11, 2024, the day before the trainee was knocked out during a regular match, according to special prosecutor David Meier.
It was during that sparring session that Delgado-Garcia developed concussion symptoms, which went ignored, according to the statement of the Commonwealth’s case.
Delgado-Garcia died in the hospital Sept. 13, the day after losing consciousness during the Sept. 12 fight.
Troopers Edwin Rodriguez, David Montanez, and Casey LaMonte — instructors in the Defensive Tactics Unit — were also charged with manslaughter and causing serious bodily injury to a person participating in a training program. Rodriguez and Montanez were arraigned alongside Penton on the shared charges, and LaMonte is scheduled to appear in court in May.
Penton was also charged with perjury for allegedly providing false statements to a grand jury about when she knew about Delgado-Garcia’s concussion symptoms.
The grand jury investigation, which lead to the manslaughter charge, included testimony from 150 witnesses, most from the State Police, and close to 350 exhibits, according to the Commonwealth.
“Penton’s false testimony before the Grand Jury not only reflects her guilt regarding the events that took place under her supervision… but also constitutes Perjury,” the statement of the case said.
The statement also noted that Penton had sought to distance herself from the events leading up to the fatal fight.
“For example, neither Sergeant Penton nor any other members of the Academy’s Defensive Tactics Unit or command staff were able to provide a clear picture — whether verbally to investigators or to the Special Statewide Grand Jury, or in writing in the required daily Training Academy activity reports,” the statement of the case said, “of who had been present and what had occurred during the boxing-related sparring exercises on Wednesday Sept. 11, when Enrique Delgado-Garcia suffered concussion-like symptoms.”
According to grand jury evidence and testimony, Penton was told immediately after the knock out that the trainee had been experiencing concussion-like symptoms the day before, but there was not evidence that she reported those facts to emergency personnel who attended to Delgado-Garcia on Sept. 12 or when asked by MSP investigators the following week.
“She was asked directly, specifically, and repeatedly during her testimony before the Special Statewide Grand Jury (at which she was represented by counsel) about being informed of Enrique Delgado Garcia’s ‘concussion-like symptoms’,” the statement said. “Penton repeatedly denied being told any such information.”
At the tail end of the arraignment, Meier made a motion that the perjury case be merged with the charges in Worcester. The clerk magistrate didn’t hear formal arguments, but Penton’s lawyer Brad Bailey said he would be opposing that motion.
When the hearing was over, Penton was told by a court officer to wait a moment as family of Delgado-Garcia, who also attended the arraignment in Worcester, filed out of the courtroom.
Penton walked out herself and hugged two women who’d attended the proceedings. They declined to speak with the Herald, only saying, “We love her.”
Outside the courthouse, Bailey said he was “extremely confident that the evidence will show [Penton] has committed no wrongs.”
“We don’t have to prove a single thing,” he added.
While walking to her car, Penton was bombarded with insults from shouting supporters of Delgado-Garcia wearing green.
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