lanesboro correctional officer killed lanesboro correctional officer killed

One inmate warned Lanesboro prison officials that Latino gang members were armed with homemade knives and planning an attack. All three of the Latino inmates had sharp weapons. But he said that Gov. But in his first public comments about the hidden weapons, Wall said Lanesboros top administrator at the time Lawrence Parsons was unaware that he kept the weapons in his ceiling. Prison officials refused to open Cooks cell door so that investigators could get a DNA sample, Bridges said. Friends and family described Juan Ortiz-Castillo as very jealous of his wife, according to police. The two inmates meet in the office with Wall, other administrators and members of the United Blood Nation gang, off and on, for 17 minutes. ANSONCOUNTY, N.C. -- A N.C. inmate has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that corrections officers at an Anson County prison cracked his skull with a baton . Vazquez repeatedly stabs Turner with a shank. The suits also contend that Wall facilitated attacks on two other inmates the same year Turner was killed. Then they returned to D pod, the unit where they lived. He was scheduled to stay in jail until 2017. Officers found Dwyer dead at 10:15. Polkton is 45 miles southeast of Charlotte. The state says the prison was on lockdown while they investigated the incident. Surveillance video shows two of the attackers meeting with a unit manager shortly before the attack.. [24] Consequently, the prosecutor is initiating an appeal and the process remains ongoing. Police haven't arrested his shooter and there are big questions about what led up to Thursday. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. 1992 military police killing of prisoners in Brazil, Act in memoriam of 111 prisoners dead in the incident. To investigators and the killers lawyers, his meaning seems clear: The man making that gesture isnt another inmate. A North Carolina inmate has been sentenced to at least 12 more years in prison for the gang-related murder of a fellow inmate, a case that has exposed further problems at Lanesboro Correctional Institution. State prison officials refused to say how many staff were on duty the day Callahan died. Polkton Police Chief Matthew Norris said he recovered the one shank in Walls desk drawer soon after the 2012 fight. Suite 1650 They visited the office for about 15 minutes. September 2016 - Inmates stabbed a sergeant and a lieutenant at the prison, and hit two other officers with a broom handle. The first to enter is Julio Zelaya-Sorto, convicted of shooting and killing a man at a Greensboro nightclub. [25] Since the massacre, Brazil's federal government has passed new legislation to reform the prison system, all of which has yet to be enforced.[26]. Lanesboro Correctional Institution is a 1,000 cell, high security prison facility located adjacent to Brown Creek Correctional Institution and Anson Correctional Center in Polkton, NC. What to know about daylight saving time in NC, Goofy dog had no adoption inquiries for months. The state Department of Public Safety says an inmate at Bertie. As alleged in the indictment, as a correctional officer, Blythers duties included the supervision of inmates, and ensuring safe, secure and orderly prison operations. Multiple attempts to reach Wall and Peguese including visits to their last known addresses in Anson County were unsuccessful. In February, the FBI charged former Lanesboro officer Evangeline Hunt with smuggling in drugs and other contraband for inmates. Please enter valid email address to continue. The inmate was always in his office, and that was kind of unusual, Covington said. The FBI investigated the case. The lawsuit being litigated at Charlottes federal courthouse this week was brought by Stacey Wynn, an inmate who suffered serious injuries following two November 2011 assaults at Lanesboro. As soon as the inmates entered D pod, Ortiz and Sorto attacked Cook, surveillance video shows. That works out to about one officer for every 29 inmates. Now comes the gesture. 34/00, Case No. Another direct result of the riot and the handling of the riot was the unification of prisoners. An officer in a control room opened the door for them. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. In an 11-week period in early 2016, more than 15 staff members left Lanesboro under suspicion of wrongdoing, Mitchell said. Investigators and lawyers believe a prison manager knew the attack was coming. He ran over and subdued the prisoner. Prison leaders say they have begun assigning new officers "career readiness coaches," who provide pointers on dealing with inmates, keeping themselves safe and attaining career goals. [19] In August 2013, another 25 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 624 years each for the deaths of 52 inmates. The slain officer, Bias Easley, worked at the Lanesboro Correctional Institute, which is located near Wadesboro. But some experts interviewed by the Observer said that's a possibility. Special Agent in Charge John A. His dismissal letter states that he helped create conditions that increased the chance of death or serious bodily injury to employees, inmates or the public. But minutes later, they are walking through a prison hallway with weapons, headed for a fight. She and her colleagues in the Charlotte SBI office were frequently called to investigate crimes there, including officers charged with bringing drugs to inmates. October 04, 1992. Officers and prisoners say he had a reputation for doing favors for gang members. September 2012 - The stabbing death of inmate Wesley Turner spurred an SBI investigation and led to three felony convictions. A video taken inside Lanesboro in 2012 and obtained by the Observer shows Wall meeting with gang members just minutes before those inmates, armed with homemade weapons, became involved in a fight that killed inmate Wesley Turner. I believe its not a coincidence that they are in that office within minutes of carrying out that hit, Bridges told an Observer reporter. Bridges and a prison captain searched the ceiling and found videos of prison fights, nine rods, a long metal shank and three bloody shanks. For the past nine years, Sapper has served as the operations manager for the Coastal Region, overseeing 12 prisons in eastern North Carolina. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. Theyre within feet of an officer who controls the locked door to the block. Corrections officers flocked to the scene after the stabbings, but only one shank was recovered. Parsons declined to talk with the Observer about that and other allegations. But if another staff member had been standing beside the officer that morning, "there's a possibility (Mosley) would have kept walking," McCoy said. [18] They were among five inmates formerly held at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of Charlotte, who said they were stabbed by gang members who operated openly in a prison wing overseen by Jeffrey Wall. POLKTON, N.C. - A lieutenant and a sergeant were stabbed by inmates at Lanesboro Correctional Institution around 2 p.m. Thursday and are being treated for their injuries at local hospitals, a Roberts, one of Vazquezs attorneys, said he was surprised to see how freely inmates at Lanesboro were allowed to roam the prison. The officer who opened the door for the three convicted inmates told SBI agents he did so because he thought the prisoners were returning to their unit following a meal. Wall said he put the shanks in the ceiling because he couldnt lock his desk drawer or file cabinet, his dismissal letter states. "It's so dangerous," Gravitte said. More than 45 N.C. prison officers have been fired . "It's not safe," McCoy said. Richard Dwyer, a prisoner at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, died Aug. 17 of an apparent suicide, a state Department of Public Safety news release said. They were planning to go to that unit to settle a dispute with Cook, who belonged to a different gang. Lock Angela Smith, who worked as an officer at Tabor Correctional Institution from 2010 to 2014, said she was often asked to work overtime because the prison was so understaffed. Subsequent searches found numerous cellphones, improvised weapons and marijuana. Updated: 4:34 PM EST November 9, 2012. September 29, 2016 / 6:08 PM McCoy heard the officer curse and saw her struggling with an inmate. ANSON COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - One inmate is dead andanother injured after an incident at a state prison in Anson County. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. Wall and another prison manager walk down the hallway minutes later, then stop outside the office. August 2011 - Eighteen inmates assaulted staff members throughout the month. in Criminal Justice - Corrections, and M.S. An investigation by The Charlotte Observer last year found that state prison policies and management failures allow corruption and violence to thrive. Inmates catch a mid-morning nap at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, in Polkton. A prison system veteran who earned about $41,000 a year, Wall was one of Lanesboros four unit managers, overseeing a block with nearly 300 inmates. Vazquez, 32, had already been serving an eight- to 10-year sentence for second-degree murder. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Some family members believe that the murder may have been . His friend may be next. The case was brought before the inter-American Commission by The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Teotnio Vilela Commission for Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch, and in 2000, eight years after the massacre, they condemned Brazil for it. When investigators examine surveillance videos of the murder, theyre troubled by what happens a few hours later: A man approaches a nurses office, where the killer is being held. Designed to hold 1,400 inmates, the prison has a staff of about 500. Wynn, who is serving a life sentence following a 2008 murder conviction, was permanently disabled after one of the attacks, his lawyers say. Bridges said she reviewed hours of surveillance video and saw that inmates frequently visited the office of an assistant prison manager a practice that she believed posed a danger to officers. Wall is the first staff member to arrive. In October, the prisons top administrator, David Mitchell, was injured after he was stabbed in the neck by an inmate wielding a plastic shank. Turner, who lived in D pod with the other three inmates, went through the door behind them. The fatal fight broke out roughly five minutes after the inmates left the office. One prisoner alleges that Wall ran a violent, contraband-driven fiefdom.. Meggan Callahan was killed there allegedly by an inmate who beat her to death with a fire extinguisher. You're tired. Roberts said that if prison is supposed to be a place where inmates learn to live law-abiding lives, Lanesboro appears to be falling short. The officer noticed a gun in Walls vehicle, the letter states. Our theory is that, at best, the corrections officers knew (the attack) was going to happen and did nothing to stop it, Smith said. in Justice Studies and M.S. Wesley Turner, a former inmate at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, was stabbed to death in a 2012 prison fight. Bridges said that, in her opinion, Walls meeting with the Latino gang members was connected in some way with the subsequent fight. April 2009 - Inmate Prentiss Quick complained of chest pains and requested medical help, but no one at the prison got him to a nurse or a doctor, a correctional officer and an inmate said. Angela Smith, who worked as. The officer opens the door for an inmate, and the three gang members follow him into a cell block where they dont belong. Wall, now 45, wouldnt talk to the Observer. Whether corrections officers helped facilitate any of what occurred that day, we dont know, said Tony Underwood, the special agent in charge of the nine-county SBI district that includes Anson and Mecklenburg counties. A lawyer for the killer said in a court hearing that he believes prison officials either sanctioned the September 2012 attack or looked the other way. Leandro Lo, a legendary jiu-jitsu fighter, was killed in Brazil, according to MMA Junkie.He was 33 years old. Phillip Boney, a former Lanesboro officer, told the Observer that right after the fight, he saw Wall put a shank inside an unlocked wooden podium near the cell block. Wall, who joined the prison system in 1995, was fired in August 2013 for willful violation of written rules and creating conditions that increased the chance of death or serious bodily injury, his dismissal letter states. Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough. Dates, what you need to know, Winthrop loses to Radford in Big South tournament quarterfinals, Bonnaroo vows to stay champion of self-expression despite Tennessee drag show ban. A prison with 1,000 inmates should have a total of at least 300 to 350 officers, he said. But SBI agent Audria Bridges, who led the investigation, said she was troubled to learn that inmates at the prison roamed freely in areas they should not have been in.. Corrections officers recovered another improvised weapon at the scene a sharpened metal plate, which may have come from a prison door. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Turner, 35, had also been serving time for second-degree murder and was scheduled for release in 2017. Relatives of those killed and human rights activists have both demanded and appealed for justice. The current capacity of Lanesboro Correctional Institution is 1,400 adult male inmates. He stares into the office for a few moments before walking away. Parsons testified that it was easy for inmates to make weapons, from broom handles, batteries and even toothbrushes. B.S. First published on September 29, 2016 / 6:08 PM. Bias Easley was a corrections officer at the Lanesboro Correctional Institute, near Wadesboro. Many of North Carolina's maximum-security prisons are operating dangerously short of staff, current and former correctional officers told the Observer. By Ames Alexander - aalexander@charlotteobserver.com. CHARLOTTE, N.C. A federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte has indicted Erice Lemond Blyther, 46, of Hoffman, N.C., for smuggling a controlled substance at Lanesboro Correctional Institution while employed as a correctional officer. Moments earlier, the video shows former prison sergeant Jonathan Peguese making the identical gesture toward the office where one of the other suspects was held, the lawyers said. Searches found numerous cellphones, improvised weapons and marijuana. Prisoners were reported attacking each other with knives and pipes. Accessed March 29, 2018. The LCI housed medium and close-security inmates and was one of the states largest prisons. Bertie now houses about 935 inmates. "We've got a lot of folks who are not staying with us.". The officer said Wall asked her to go into his old office and retrieve a bag of shanks from the ceiling. In a recorded phone conversation, Hunt told a friend she knew a bunch of corrupt officers, according to an FBI affidavit. Since the beginning of 2016, more than 30 stabbings occurred. If (prison officials) cant answer that question, why cant they?. MMA Junkie says that police officer Henrique Otavio Oliveira Velozo is a suspect. From a common area, Cook can see Zelaya-Sorto and Ortiz the prisoners who have just met with Wall. The commanding officer of the operation, Colonel Ubiratan Guimares, was initially sentenced to 632 years in prison for his mishandling of the rebellion and the subsequent massacre. An officer at the gate house said Wall was upset and had a gun visible in his car, which violates prison policy. Zelaya-Sorto pulls out a shank a handmade knife from inside his jumpsuit and lunges at Cook. New documents, interviews and a lawsuit paint a picture of a place where some officers seemed to collaborate with gang-affiliated inmates and gave them free rein to roam. At no time did (I) knowingly or willingly allow any inmate to attack any inmate, he wrote. The prison is named for the nearby community of Lanesboro. Hes a rookie at Lanesboro who is new to that job, still learning who to let in and who to keep out. At 11:49 a.m., less than half an hour before the fatal fight begins, Wall walks into an office with an inmate. Why fans love it. In such situations inmates will sometimes send associates to threaten the officers, or even assault them. By Ames Alexander - aalexander@charlotteobserver.com. In interviews with investigators, officer Kearry Hinson said he picked up one of the weapons used in the fight and gave it to Wall. [20] In April 2014, 15 additional policemen were sentenced to 48 years. Prison surveillance video doesnt capture that meeting, so its unclear what they discussed. On Dec. 28, a guard at Brown Creek Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison located adjacent to Lanesboro, was accused of trying to smuggle marijuana and painkillers into the facility to give to an inmate there. Both are members of the Folk Nation. The staffing shortages also put officers in danger, Smith said. Contact SAP - Penitentiary Administration of So Paulo (Secretaria da Administrao Penitenciria), Brazil, Corrections in So Paulo, So Paulo Brazil. A spokesman for the N.C. Department of Corrections says two inmates were taken to the hospital. Turner reportedly belonged to the same gang as Cook and was trying to go to his defense. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. There, Ortiz and Zelaya-Sorto attacked and seriously injured inmate Christopher Cook. In my opinion, it didnt seem logical to hide them in the ceiling, she said. Another was criminally charged with bringing heroin to a prisoner. The vigil and pleas for justice led to several trials for the officers involved in the massacre that same year. Daniel Roberts, one of the lawyers, said at a sentencing hearing that the footage suggests prison officials may have sanctioned the attack or looked the other way. Two state investigators said they reached the same opinion. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife, son in June 2021, Get ready to change your clocks. On the video, Cook, 41, is the tall inmate gesturing to other prisoners. Parsons, now retired, testified Tuesday that during his time at Lanesboro, he took a number of steps to reduce violence and keep weapons out of the hands of inmates. Inmates involved in the fight told investigators that one of the shanks was a real long knife, another resembled a razor, and the third was a plastic toilet bowl brush sharpened at one end. He reportedly belonged to Cooks gang and planned to go to his defense. Cook is a leader of the Folk Nation, a rival gang, and he has heard rumors of escalating gang tensions. Bertie isn't the only state prison with staffing problems. Blyther was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, and had his initial appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer. Another prisoner also slips through the door. A corrections officer opened the door that allowed the three convicted inmates into an adjacent pod. It was especially heartbreaking for me to see you go in the media from being a grieving father who lost a wife and a son to being the person indicted and convicted of killing them, Judge Clifton Newman said to Alex Murdaugh Friday. Palmetto man sentenced to life in prison after stabbing wife to death, faking intruder, He found a clam on a Florida beach to make some chowder. This morning, Turner had warned Cook that Latino gang members planned to create trouble between the Bloods and the Folks. Soon afterward, he contacted a Lanesboro employee, asking her to retrieve the contraband from the ceiling of his old office, his dismissal letter states. Its the few who dont who make problems for everybody.. Prison leaders say that when staff vacancies at a prison rise, they make adjustments, such as moving prisoners, reducing inmate programs and sending fewer staff members to special training. Its clearly not a place where theyre learning to go the straight and narrow, he said. Another prison manager in that cramped office at the time told investigators that she was not paying attention as Wall spoke to the gang members, Bridges said. State Bureau of Investigation agents say they are examining possible wrongdoing by former Lanesboro officers and cannot discuss the assertions by Vazquezs lawyers. It was me who was supposed to die that day.. They have a very difficult job Most of them do it the right way. Lanesboro Correctional Institution houses about 1,800 inmates in close, medium and minimum custody. Angela Smith, who worked as an officer at Tabor Correctional Institution from 2010 to 2014, said she was often asked to work overtime because the prison was so understaffed. In July 2013, 10 months after the attack, Bridges was at Lanesboro interviewing an inmate when she got a tip. Both of the attacks involved weapons. December 2010 - Thirteen inmates assaulted staff members in various attacks, state records show. Jurors deliberated for about half an hour before convicting Mikel. At Bertie, Callahan was responding to a fire set inside a trash can on the evening of April 26 when an inmate beat her to death with the fire extinguisher she'd brought to douse the flames, state officials say. Attorneys for Vazquez said their client never told them what led to the fight. Both inmates are members of MS-13, a powerful Latino gang. Three correctional officers were assaulted late last week at the same state prison where an officer was killed two years ago. The father of two was shot and killed in front of his Charlotte, North Carolina home, and police are currently investigating whether or not the murder was somehow connected to his profession or incidences which may have occurred in the correctional facility where he is employed. Many of those videos were labeled with the words use of force a term that describes the force used by law enforcement officers to control unruly people. In a statement to the Observer, N.C. Secretary of Public Safety Frank Perry wrote: Management changes have been made at Lanesboro, but many other initiatives are in the works that include increasing staff, providing additional staff training and partnering with outside law enforcement and investigative agencies.. They assert that releasing the videos could jeopardize prison security. "I think if I hadn't gotten over there in time, (Mosley) probably would have cut her throat," McCoy said. An investigation by The Charlotte Observer, NC woman who beat 1 in 3.35 million odds shows up to claim her lottery jackpot, Mail carrier cant believe his eyes after seeing NC lottery win. programs we write about. It's unclear whether better staffing would have saved Callahan's life. A third inmate involved in the altercation that day Julio Alberto Zelaya-Sorto pleaded guilty last month to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. For instance, they noted, he failed to tell prison officers after his attacker assaulted him the first time.