By Syndicated Content By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) â Two jail guards who admitted to falsifying records on the night Jeffrey Epstein killed himself on their watch won a federal judgeâs approval on Tuesday for an agreement to end the criminal case against them and let them avoid prison. The defendants, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, had been accused of falling asleep and surfing the internet rather than checking on Epstein every 30 minutes at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Manhattan. Epstein, who had pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking charges, was found hanging in his cell on Aug. 10, 2019. New York Cityâs medical examiner called the financierâs death a suicide.