Parklea Correctional Centre: Benjamin Morgan, Ryan Sampson plead guilty to prison riot roles

The inside story behind an out-of-control prison riot, which saw inmates storm the roof of Parklea prison and rack up an $8 million damage bill, has been laid bare as two men confessed to their roles.

The inside story behind an out-of-control prison riot, which saw inmates use broken guitars and burning books to storm the roof of Parklea Correctional Centre and rack up an $8 million damage bill, has been laid bare as two men confessed to their roles.

Benjamin James Morgan, 35, and Ryan Sampson, 30, appeared via videolink at Downing Centre Local Court where they each pleaded guilty to the charge of riot.

Documents tendered to court reveal how the terrifying three-hour riot, which saw correctional officers lose control and the prison engulfed with smoke and flames, broke out on July 21, 2021 amid rising tensions brought on by the pandemic and lockdowns.

According to court documents, the riot broke out when a corrections officer was escorting an inmate to a prison yard.

CCTV footage shows the officer leading the inmate past four other inmates - none of whom are either Morgan or Sampson - who were on the other side of a fence in an exercise yard. The four prisoners began speaking to the officer but when she opened the gate they pushed past her, court documents state.

Prison inmates are seen rioting on the roof of Parklea Correctional Centre on July 12 2021, in Sydney Australia. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“They ran towards the officer’s station … (and) then began to climb the fence of the yard towards the roof,” court documents state.

From here, the inmates allegedly used a broomstick to break a skylight and climb up onto the fence.

Sections of the prison were engulfed with flames before specialist riot police brought it under control. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“Once on the roof they started to collect objects … and threw them down to the inmates in the (different prison) yards,” police allege.

The actions of these four alleged instigators are described as “swift and direct and planned”.

The correctional officers called a “Code Black”, which, in prison terms, means an officer needs immediate assistance, but it was already too late. The riot was well underway with 14 inmates now on the roof and ten involved in lighting fires.

From here, both Morgan and Sampson played different roles in the riot which spread across Parklea Correctional Centre for hours.

Morgan was in a yard catching items thrown from the roof and helping another inmate to barricade a door.

Picture: Justin Lloyd.

He also carried burning sheets and clothing entered a storeroom through a hole created by the flames, before ripping out book pages to fuel the flames, and later using bed sheets to stoke the fire.

“(Morgan then) approached the officers station and fed alight material through bars into the office in an attempt to start a fire in the area the guards were taking refuge,” court documents state.

As this section of the prison filled with smoke and flame, the inmates on the roof “continued to yell and scream in support of the riot” and the officers were forced to leave the section of the prison, described as being “almost entirely engulfed in fire and thick black smoke”.

Sampson was in a different section of the prison and it is not alleged he played a role in lighting or stoking the fires.

Riot police had to move in and arrest inmates on the rooftops of Parklea prison. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Instead, he used a broken guitar to damage barbed wire so other inmates could climb onto the roof.

When Sampson could not manage the climb, he carried a metal cabinet across the yard to help others get to the rooftop.

“The fire was finally extinguished at 6pm … (but) the damage and destruction occasioned from the fire, smoke and water is estimated to be about $8 million,” court documents detailed.

In court, Sampson also pleaded guilty to damaging property by fire — an offence which occurred at a later date, on March 19, 2022.

Sampson damaged a mattress and jail cell wall at Goulburn prison.

Sampson will be sentenced at Downing Centre Local Court in September, while Morgan will also return to the District Court for sentencing later this year.