The pay is low an average of the about $35,000 annually at maximum-security prisons and the work is dangerous and demanding. "It puts officers' lives in danger to be honest. This morning, Turner had warned Cook that Latino gang members planned to create trouble between the Bloods and the Folks. For months, Bridges tried to make sense of what she saw at the murder scene and on surveillance video. programs we write about. SBI agents who investigated the killing said in interviews this week that they have no proof that corrections officers were trying to help the assailants. Heres how to check the conditions. [24] Consequently, the prosecutor is initiating an appeal and the process remains ongoing. Prisoners were reported attacking each other with knives and pipes. More than 45 N.C. prison officers have been fired . In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. Its clearly not a place where theyre learning to go the straight and narrow, he said. [5] The prisoners were stripped, locked in their cells and shot. Cook is a leader of the Folk Nation, a rival gang, and he has heard rumors of escalating gang tensions. The three wait outside Cooks cell block for more than a minute. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law. It's odd that (the gang members) are meeting with Wall minutes before the attack, Smith said. This sprawling complex of concrete and barbed wire in Anson County holds 1,800 inmates, including more than 350 men convicted of murder and 150 convicted of rape. Richard Dwyer, a prisoner at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, died Aug. 17 of an apparent suicide, a state Department of Public Safety news release said. In a recorded phone conversation, Hunt told a friend she knew a bunch of corrupt officers, according to an FBI affidavit. The gashes in the officer's face and neck required 39 stitches. Some family members believe that the murder may have been connected to an incident that occurred at a convenience store earlier in the week. He was sentenced to 32 to 48 months. Our site does not feature every educational option available on the market. 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. The fatal fight broke out roughly five minutes after the inmates left the office. On the morning of Sept. 28, 2012, the day that Turner was stabbed to death, there were rumors of potential violence. Some family members believe that the murder may have been . The officer noticed a gun in Walls vehicle, the letter states. 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. Early on the morning of Nov. 15, 2013, Lanesboro had just four officers in the chow hall to oversee the 100 inmates who were there for breakfast, McCoy said. Prison leaders plan to examine many factors, including staffing patterns, Guice said. Then he covers his mouth. He said three inmates believed to be involved in the assault have been identified and are being questioned. Polkton is 45 miles southeast of Charlotte. At Lanesboro, 45 miles southeast of Charlotte, it was common for 42 officers to watch about 1,200 prisoners on the night shift, according to Gregory McCoy, who worked there as a correctional officer from 2009 to 2016. Walls testimony was brief and he did not elaborate on the hidden weapons. 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. By Ames Alexander - aalexander@charlotteobserver.com. The other inmate who was injured is being treated for his injuries. ", NC prison was understaffed when Sgt. The Anson County Sheriff's Office says one inmate is dead and another was stabbed. Most (of the prisons officers) are good, hard-working folks, said Underwood, the SBI supervisor. Copyright 2012 WBTV. October 04, 1992. And with Wall's signal after the fact, telling (Vazquez) essentially to be quiet, I don't know what other inference you can draw from it.. Staff researcher Maria David and David Raynor of The (Raleigh) News & Observer contributed. As alleged in the indictment, as a correctional officer, Blythers duties included the supervision of inmates, and ensuring safe, secure and orderly prison operations. An officer at the gate house said Wall was upset and had a gun visible in his car, which violates prison policy. State prison officials refused to say how many staff were on duty the day Callahan died. But some experts interviewed by the Observer said that's a possibility. What happened to (the shanks)? asked SBI agent Audria Bridges, who led the investigation into Turners murder. State prison policy says weapons potential criminal evidence should be kept in a locked container in the prisons armory. Soon afterward, a corrections officer allowed the inmates into the pod where the murder took place. He reportedly belonged to Cooks gang and planned to go to his defense. Around 1:30 P.M., two groups got into a fight after a game of football; the fight quickly escalated into a prison riot that lasted three hours. Do you want to share documents or information about the North Carolina prisons? 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Bridges said she hasnt watched all of the DVDs found in Walls ceiling, but has turned them over to the FBI. At 11:49 a.m., less than half an hour before the fatal fight begins, Wall walks into an office with an inmate. "You can only spread people so thin," she said. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. The shank didnt belong there. 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. The state has changed the prisons leadership several times in recent years. November 2014 - Five former Lanesboro inmates filed a federal lawsuit alleging that officers at the Anson County prison repeatedly helped gang-affiliated inmates get weapons and wage attacks. Main Office: Often, observers say, officers let inmates visit and congregate in administrative offices. 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. Both are members of the Folk Nation. Then he counted the rings, Is red tide present at your favorite Florida beach? Cook said he met him in 2001, when Turner came to his aid in a fight against correctional officers. The prison has a staff complement of 403 employees including correctional officers, administrators, food service, medical, dental and maintenance workers. Prison surveillance video doesnt capture that meeting, so its unclear what they discussed. 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. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Cook, the target of the 2012 attack, was released from prison in March. News anchor Fred Shropshire is leaving Charlotte station WCNC. 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. This story was originally published December 4, 2014, 6:58 PM. 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. Meggan Callahan was killed by an inmate at Bertie Correctional Institution Wednesday evening. Roberts, one of Vazquezs attorneys, said he was surprised to see how freely inmates at Lanesboro were allowed to roam the 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. April 2011 - Richard Neely, a former top administrator at Lanesboro, was charged with felony obstruction of justice following allegations that he destroyed video footage that might have shown officers using excessive force in a fight with inmates. If (prison officials) cant answer that question, why cant they?. 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. "If you had more staff, then you might have been looking at hurt staff instead of dead staff" (on the day Callahan died), Harkins said. Combined, theyve been cited for dozens of offenses while in prison, including weapon possession, fighting and assault. Turner walks over to Cook and they stand shoulder to shoulder, braced for an attack. Corrections officers flocked to the scene after the stabbings, but only one shank was recovered. One of those officers fell and hurt her knee when she went to Callahan's defense, Jernigan said. WINDSOR, NC (Ames Alexander and Gavin Off/The Charlotte Observer) - Bertie Correctional Institution was understaffed the month that Sgt. They were planning to go to that unit to settle a dispute with Cook, who belonged to a different gang. The facility houses medium- and close-security inmates. The murder, which occurred on Thursday June 5 in the hours before Easley and his father planned to watch the first game of the NBA finals together, left his family devastated. She and her colleagues in the Charlotte SBI office were frequently called to investigate crimes there, including officers charged with bringing drugs to inmates. She earned an extra $36,500 in overtime that year, records show. Other prison staff members showed him where it was, he said. But Daniel Roberts, one of the attorneys, told a judge at a court hearing that the videos and other evidence suggest prison officials either sanctioned the attack or looked the other way. The indictment was unsealed today in federal court, following Blyther's arrest by the FBI. All charges in the indictment are allegations. Hodges was sentenced to two years in federal prison. 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. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Have a question about Government Services? "It's so dangerous," Gravitte said.
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