Lock It did not appear to be a normal prison relationship that a correctional officer should have with inmates, Underwood said. November 2013 - A gang member cut a correctional officer three times on the neck and face, requiring 39 stitches, according to a police report. The current capacity of Lanesboro Correctional Institution is 1,400 adult male inmates. Several days after the incident police still had not arrested a suspect or determined a motive for the murder. 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. [21] They assert that releasing the videos could jeopardize prison security. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. His friend may be next. The man turns and looks directly into the room. David Mitchell, a Harley-riding former Navy officer brought in to run the prison in 2014, was attacked three times in his first eight months once stabbed in the neck by an inmate wielding a dagger fashioned from melted plastic. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. The facility was a detention center, not a penitentiary, meaning that the inmates had not yet been tried or convicted. "When you don't have adequate staff to manage the inmates, and there's an incident, unfortunately people can get hurt and sometimes people even die," Webster said. "You can only spread people so thin," she said. Once in a lifetime, Murdaugh verdict sends a Lowcountry message: No one is above the law | Opinion, Charlotte Waffle House found with live roach, unclean equipment during health inspection, The top-ranked pie in North Carolina doesnt look like pie at all. Attorneys for the state quizzed Wynn why he didnt take steps that might have allowed him to avoid the attack. If Cooks DNA had turned up on any of the shanks in Walls office, that could have helped tie them to the attack. One former officer, who rushed to a colleague's defense after she was slashed in the neck by an inmate at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, said the attack might have been prevented with more staff. [22][23] The court judged that the massacre was an act of self-defense and that there was a lack of evidence to link the individual officers to the individual killings. [13] Although not entirely certain, his death was likely the result of his role in the massacre. Zelaya-Sorto pulls out a shank a handmade knife from inside his jumpsuit and lunges at Cook. The Anson County Sheriff's Office says one inmate is dead and another was stabbed. How serious Parsons was about keeping contraband out of the prison remains unclear. Soon, the three convicted inmates all reported gang members were waiting at the door that would allow them into E pod, an adjacent unit. 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. Shortly after 3 p.m., almost three hours after the attack, correctional officers lead Vazquez into a nurses office. But by that time, the officer was already bleeding profusely. in Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement, A.S. in Criminal Justice, B.S. She and her colleagues in the Charlotte SBI office were frequently called to investigate crimes there, including officers charged with bringing drugs to inmates. There are no national standards for minimum staffing at prisons, experts say. Inmates often hid contraband in body cavities, Parsons said. in Criminal Justice - Corrections, and M.S. Prisoners were reported attacking each other with knives and pipes. Brooke, James. State figures show that in April, when Callahan died, roughly one of every five correctional officer positions at the eastern North Carolina prison was vacant. And, he said, they would even go so far as to tie dental floss around forbidden items, flush them down the toilet before a cell search and later use the dental floss to retrieve them. ", "The inmates literally say, 'You all are understaffed, so if we wanted to, we could overtake this prison.' He sued and won a $10,000 settlement from the state. POLKTON, N.C. -- Authorities in North Carolina say two supervisors were stabbed and two correctional officers were assaulted with a broom handle in an attackat a state prison. A former high-ranking administrator accused of fostering violence at one of North Carolinas most dangerous prisons acknowledged in federal court Tuesday that he kept homemade weapons such as shanks hidden in the ceiling of his prison office. Food Service Officer (Former Employee) - Wadesboro, NC - August 31, 2019. A female officer told Bridges that Wall just called looking for help. Correctional officers were also prohibited from accepting gifts from inmates, performing favors for inmates, or providing inmates with narcotic drugs or any other item forbidden by LCI rules. The five men say they filed the lawsuit because of their time at Lanesboro Correctional Institution. Wall had been assigned to another prison while the Turner investigation was underway. February 2017 - Former officer Evangeline Hunt was charged with smuggling in drugs and other contraband for inmates. The indictment was unsealed today in federal court, following Blyther's arrest by the FBI. 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. Vazquez, 32, had already been serving an eight- to 10-year sentence for second-degree murder. Guice, the prison leader, acknowledged that the state faces significant staffing challenges. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. [8] In 2013, hundreds of people attended a multi-faith vigil in So Paulo in memoriam of those killed in the massacre. "And this time it came up snake eyes," he said. 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. Turner, 35, had also been serving time for second-degree murder and was scheduled for release in 2017. Department spokesman Keith Acree said the two are being treated for their injuries at local hospitals. 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. Walker said she cant discuss specifics, but the investigation was not related to the Turner case. B.S. Then shelter shared desperate plea, What to Watch Friday: Dateline and 20/20 update Murdaugh murder trial coverage, Mail carrier cant believe his eyes after seeing NC lottery win. They are joined by a third Latino gang member, Gregorio Vazquez, who is in prison for second-degree murder. He goes straight to Cook, who is bleeding, and motions for him to get down on his knees. If (prison officials) cant answer that question, why cant they?. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Bias Easley was a corrections officer at the Lanesboro Correctional Institute, near Wadesboro. At other prisons of comparable size, officers told the Observer, it's common for about 50 or 60 officers to work the day shift. The massacre, which left 111 prisoners dead, is considered by many people to be a major human rights violation. In interviews with investigators, officer Kearry Hinson said he picked up one of the weapons used in the fight and gave it to Wall. I believe its not a coincidence that they are in that office within minutes of carrying out that hit, Bridges told an Observer reporter. Multiple attempts to reach Wall and Peguese including visits to their last known addresses in Anson County were unsuccessful. ANSON COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - Five former prisoners of Lanesboro Correctional in Anson County say guards at the prison helped gang-affiliated inmates get weapons and wage attacks. Finding people who are willing to work as prison officers isn't easy. 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. He said he based his suspicions on information from inmate informants and prison surveillance video. This story was originally published December 13, 2014, 4:41 PM. Officers and prisoners say he had a reputation for doing favors for gang members. 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. Why would someone working in a prison give someone who is suspected of being involved in a murder a be quiet sign? Roberts said in an interview with the Observer. Most (of the prisons officers) are good, hard-working folks, said Underwood, the SBI supervisor. [16] The group is believed to be responsible for the death of Jos Ismael Pedrosa, the director of the prison at the time. [5] No policemen were injured. Vazquez and Zelaya-Sorto are scheduled for release in 2028. Officers often find that they may become targets outside of the work place for incidents that began inside the jails and prisons in which they work. WINDSOR, NC (Ames Alexander and Gavin Off/The Charlotte Observer) - Bertie Correctional Institution was understaffed the month that Sgt. All charges in the indictment are allegations. Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have also documented statistics of police violence and acquittals in Brazil. Ortiz, the inmate charged in that stabbing, said his weapon was a plastic toilet bowl cleaner with a sharpened end. A corrections officer opened the door that allowed the three convicted inmates into an adjacent pod. By Ames Alexander - aalexander@charlotteobserver.com. The pay is low an average of the about $35,000 annually at maximum-security prisons and the work is dangerous and demanding. Copyright 2012 WBTV. Searches found numerous cellphones, improvised weapons and marijuana. One Polk officer made $29,800 in salary in 2015. ". [3] Around 2:15 P.M., the prison director, Dr Jos Ismael Pedrosa, informed the local military police Polcia Militar do Estado de So Paulo about the uprising. Prison surveillance video doesnt capture that meeting, so its unclear what they discussed. October 2014 - Prison administrator David Mitchell was stabbed in the neck by an inmate wielding a plastic shank. Officers found Dwyer dead at 10:15. Ortiz and Vazquez didnt respond to the Observers requests for information about the case. Some correctional officers have more than doubled their income by working overtime. 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. Reporters interviewed Cook in March, two days after he was released from prison. Five years after the murder, Lanesboros problems continue. This morning, Turner had warned Cook that Latino gang members planned to create trouble between the Bloods and the Folks. 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 . 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. Prison officials refused to allow reporters to interview Cook in prison, citing mental health concerns and a policy that does not allow media interviews with inmates in solitary confinement. But some experts interviewed by the Observer said that's a possibility. Once in a lifetime, After years of negotiations, GOP leaders reach a breakthrough on Medicaid expansion, Alex Murdaughs attorneys say theyll appeal double-murder conviction, 16-year-old Raleigh teen charged with murder in Robeson County killing, The evidence was clear: Murdaugh juror reveals quick deliberation in SC murder trial, Day 29: Murdaugh sentenced to life, attorneys say theyll appeal to US Supreme Court if needed, What were the deciding factors in the Murdaugh guilty verdict? But if another staff member had been standing beside the officer that morning, "there's a possibility (Mosley) would have kept walking," McCoy said. Seconds later, Ortiz grabs a shank from his waistband and also begins slashing Cook. Next is Joel Sour Ortiz, who is in prison for armed robbery and shooting a motorist in the head during a road-rage attack on Raleighs beltline. The inmate was always in his office, and that was kind of unusual, Covington said. There, Ortiz and Zelaya-Sorto attacked and seriously injured inmate Christopher Cook. Inmate Craig Wissink, who has been serving a life sentence for murder since 2004, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with Callahan's death. The letter also stated that Wall intentionally tried to conceal contraband that might have been used for pending criminal charges or an internal investigation. Lanesboro Correctional Institution houses about 1,800 inmates in close, medium and minimum custody. programs we write about. Soon afterward, he contacted a Lanesboro employee, asking her to retrieve the contraband from the ceiling of his old office, his dismissal letter states. Seconds later, another prisoner follows. Official websites use .gov Lanesboro Correctional Institution is a state men's prison in Polkton, North Carolina, first opened in January, 2004 and operated by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Adult Corrections.As one of the state's four largest prisons, the official capacity is 1,800 prisoners. [7], The country was in major shock from the massacre. [18] Asked to explain the shanks in his ceiling, Wall told his bosses he was planning to put them in a display case to train new staff members. Other inmates had told investigators that Hodges was supplying contraband to an inmate gang member who she later admitted was her boyfriend, court records show. 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. Bertie now houses about 935 inmates. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife, son in June 2021. He reportedly belonged to Cooks gang and planned to go to his defense. The first to enter is Julio Zelaya-Sorto, convicted of shooting and killing a man at a Greensboro nightclub. Where, she wondered, were the shanks used to attack Cook and Turner? Wynn, who also took the stand Tuesday, testified that some inmates simply walked around prison metal detectors. He was sentenced to 32 to 48 months. At the time, she was responding to a fire that had been set inside the. Corrections officers recovered another improvised weapon at the scene a sharpened metal plate, which may have come from a prison door. Authorities say prison Sgt. David Guice, the state's chief deputy secretary for adult correction and juvenile justice, said he does not yet know whether better staffing at Bertie would have made any difference the day that Callahan was killed. In my opinion, it didnt seem logical to hide them in the ceiling, she said. Driver arrested after video shows him nearly hitting students at their school bus stop. Wesley Turner, a former inmate at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, was stabbed to death in a 2012 prison fight. The winner, from Charlotte, took her prize as a $600,000 lump sum, officials said. 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. January 2013 - A former Lanesboro correctional officer began sending letters to state officials, describing several incidents in which some prison officials appeared to collude with gang members. To cope with the shortages, many prisons have also paid hundreds of thousands each year for overtime.