SACRAMENTO — A former California correctional officer pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to submitting a false report in connection with a federal civil rights investigation into the death of an inmate at a Sacramento-area prison

Ashley Marie Aurich, 32, of Sacramento, lied about seeing another another former correctional officer, Arturo Pacheco, reach down and pull the legs out from under a handcuffed inmate at California State Prison, Sacramento, in September 2016 as the two guards were escorting the prisoner.

The 65-year-old inmate fell forward, striking his head and upper body on the concrete, and died at a hospital two days later.

Aurich prepared a false report inaccurately detailing how Pacheco brought the inmate to the ground and failing to identify another eyewitness.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when she is sentenced April 12.

Arturo Pacheco, 38, of Mather, faces two federal charges of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of falsification of records in a federal investigation.

The two guards were dismissed from their jobs in 2018.