Those officers must cover two shifts and a number of them are off, sick or on vacation at any given time so only a fraction of the total staff was likely available to work the day shift on April 26. [10] He was in charge of the special police unit ROTA that is known for having an aggressive approach to civil disturbance. Western North Carolina [21] Hodges was sentenced to two years in federal prison. For almost two years, an Observer reporter exchanged letters with inmate Christopher Cook, who described what led to the attack that killed Turner. Carandiru massacre - Wikipedia 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. Dustin Bettis, a former inmate who did time in Lanesboro, told the Observer he saw Wall give a pocket knife to one inmate and a cellphone to another. November 2013 - A gang member cut a correctional officer three times on the neck and face, requiring 39 stitches, according to a police report. More than 45 N.C. prison officers have been fired . The facility was a detention center, not a penitentiary, meaning that the inmates had not yet been tried or convicted. Turner, 35, had also been serving time for second-degree murder and was scheduled for release in 2017. FBI Arrests Corrections Officer For Smuggling A Controlled Substance At 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. Most (of the prisons officers) are good, hard-working folks, said Underwood, the SBI supervisor. Special Agent in Charge John A. A video taken inside Lanesboro Correctional Institution shows prison officials gesturing to suspects in an inmate's 2012 murder to keep their mouths shut after the killing, lawyers who. The letter also stated that Wall intentionally tried to conceal contraband that might have been used for pending criminal charges or an internal investigation. 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. Parsons testified that it was easy for inmates to make weapons, from broom handles, batteries and even toothbrushes. Investigators and lawyers believe a prison manager knew the attack was coming. in Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement, A.S. in Criminal Justice, B.S. Channel 9 has investigated Lanesboro, a maximum-security prison, for years. Located in Polkton, about 45 miles east of Charlotte, Lanesboro has repeatedly drawn scrutiny after violence, contraband smuggling and allegations of improper conduct by corrections officers. Did prison guards conspire with inmates, gangs at North Carolina prison 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 corrections officer opened the door that allowed the three convicted inmates into an adjacent pod. 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. Police are asking anyone with information related to the Easley murder to contact them immediately. 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. 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. Its also unclear where Zelays-Sorto and Ortiz go immediately after the meeting breaks up. Bridges said that, in her opinion, Walls meeting with the Latino gang members was connected in some way with the subsequent fight. But Jeffery Wall the unit manager who made the gesture has been accused in federal lawsuits of facilitating two other gang attacks the same year. December 2010 - Thirteen inmates assaulted staff members in various attacks, state records show. Heres how SBI officials say the early afternoon fight unfolded: Shortly before the attack, two of the convicted inmates visited the office of an assistant unit manager. 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. Experts said that better staffing at the prison likely would have meant more eyes and ears on what inmates were doing, faster response times and more officers on the scene. In February, the FBI charged former Lanesboro officer Evangeline Hunt with smuggling in drugs and other contraband for inmates. Officers skipped their required rounds at the prison the night Quick died, records show. Meggan Callahan was killed there allegedly by an inmate who beat her to death with a fire extinguisher. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. Bridges said she hasnt watched all of the DVDs found in Walls ceiling, but has turned them over to the FBI. ANSON COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - One inmate is dead andanother injured after an incident at a state prison in Anson County. [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. Wynn said he did not want to be branded as a prison snitch, a label that can get inmates hurt. All charges in the indictment are allegations. A search warrant affidavit filed earlier this year said that homemade knives were found in the ceiling above the office of Jeffery Wall, a former manager over the prison unit where Turner was killed. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. Here are his plans. On the morning of Sept. 28, 2012, the day that Turner was stabbed to death, there were rumors of potential violence. By Ames Alexander - aalexander@charlotteobserver.com. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Zelaya-Sorto and Ortiz pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. "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. The control booth officer sees the fight, picks up a radio and makes a call. 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. Dawe, whose group shares research to help correctional officers, said that prison leaders who operate without sufficient staff "roll the dice with people's lives.". in Criminal Justice - Corrections, and M.S. At Polk Correctional Institution, north of Durham, two or three officers are routinely put in charge of monitoring more than 200 inmates in the chow hall, said Sierra Gravitte, an officer who this month resigned from the prison after four years on the job. Id like to see the truth be told about what really does go on in here.. They were planning to go to that unit to settle a dispute with Cook, who belonged to a different gang. He would not discuss the lawsuit or his testimony with an Observer reporter. Its the few who dont who make problems for everybody.. Jeremy Smith, who also represented Vazquez, formed the same opinion: Our theory is that, at best, the corrections officers knew (the attack) was going to happen and did nothing to stop it, he told the Observer. He said I could face an EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) complaint for making false accusations.. 227 West Trade St. At the time, she was responding to a fire that had been set inside the. Officers and prisoners say he had a reputation for doing favors for gang members. The disclosures raise new questions about the role that corrections officers have played in violence at the high-security prison in Anson County. 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. Turner walks over to Cook and they stand shoulder to shoulder, braced for an attack. 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. NC prison officers skip security rounds, endanger inmates | Raleigh Staff researcher Maria David and editor Rogelio Aranda contributed. All three of the Latino inmates had sharp weapons. RALEIGH, N.C. A prison officer and two inmates were injured during a fight at Lanesboro Correctional Institution Thursday morning, state prison officials said. Prison video shows Wall making a keep your mouth shut gesture stretching his arms wide and then folding them so his hands covered his mouth to the office where Vazquez had been taken, Roberts and Smith said. Three correctional officers were assaulted late last week at the same state prison where an officer was killed two years ago. 4 correctional officers assaulted at North Carolina prison Vazquez and Zelaya-Sorto are scheduled for release in 2028. In a cell block inside one of the states most dangerous prisons, an inmate stabs a rival gang member over and over, 13 times. 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. Finding people who are willing to work as prison officers isn't easy. Turner lies bleeding to death on the concrete floor. 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. 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. 34/00, Case No. He got the nickname Ghost Face as the only white kid hanging out in a Durham housing project. Murder investigation exposes more problems at Lanesboro prison The man turns and looks directly into the room. At a pre-disciplinary conference, Wall told prison officials he was planning to put the shanks in a display case that would be used to train new staff members. What to know about daylight saving time in NC, Goofy dog had no adoption inquiries for months. The Observer repeatedly tried to reach Wall to discuss the Turner murder and the lawsuit allegations. 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. 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. [9] Then Wall said, They have nothing to worry about because if I wanted to get anyone, I could get them touched from the outside, the letter states. He said three inmates believed to be involved in the assault have been identified and are being questioned. 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 2017, The New York Times published an article captioned "Brazils Deadly Prison System". Experts say such corruption jeopardizes prison workers, wastes taxpayer dollars and endangers the public. "It's not safe," McCoy said. 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. The current capacity of Lanesboro Correctional Institution is 1,400 adult male inmates. The fatal fight broke out roughly five minutes after the inmates left the office. Forensic tests did not tie any of the shanks in Walls ceiling to the attacks on Turner, according to Bridges, the SBI agent. State corrections officials identified the inmate killed as Wesley Eugene Turner, 35, who had been in prison since 1996 for multiple offenses, including second-degree murder. 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. Some family members believe that the murder may have been connected to an incident that occurred at a convenience store earlier in the week. In a court filing, he said he never facilitated attacks. The prison has a staff complement of 403 employees including correctional officers, administrators, food service, medical, dental and maintenance workers. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Contact SAP - Penitentiary Administration of So Paulo (Secretaria da Administrao Penitenciria), Brazil, Corrections in So Paulo, So Paulo Brazil. An investigation by The Charlotte Observer last year found that state prison policies and management failures allow corruption and violence to thrive. Bertie now houses about 935 inmates. I didnt have enough cooperation to connect the dots, she said. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife, son in June 2021. Leandro Lo, a legendary jiu-jitsu fighter, was killed in Brazil, according to MMA Junkie.He was 33 years old. By Ames Alexander, Gavin Off and Elizabeth Leland. Often, observers say, officers let inmates visit and congregate in administrative offices. Zelaya-Sorto did reply to the Observer, but wrote only: Este caso esta serado This case is closed.. Another was criminally charged with bringing heroin to a prisoner. 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. 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. Wall had been assigned to another prison while the Turner investigation was underway. Attorneys for Vazquez said their client never told them what led to the fight. He stretches his arms wide above his head, then lowers them and covers his mouth with both hands. How serious Parsons was about keeping contraband out of the prison remains unclear. A veteran SC attorney weighs in, Alex Murdaugh murder trial jury begins deliberations same day 1 juror is removed. 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. Where, she wondered, were the shanks used to attack Cook and Turner? Inmates sue staff of Lanesboro Correctional - WBTV News Prison officials considered that a clear threat to staff. He had 43. 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.. The pay is low an average of the about $35,000 annually at maximum-security prisons and the work is dangerous and demanding. [18] But Vazquez stabbed and killed Turner using another improvised weapon, a sharpened metal plate. A prison with 1,000 inmates should have a total of at least 300 to 350 officers, he said. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. This morning, Turner had warned Cook that Latino gang members planned to create trouble between the Bloods and the Folks. Others believe that it was somehow connected to his job. Ronald Covington, a former captain at Lanesboro, testified that Wall appeared to be close to a gang-affiliated inmate. A spokesman for the N.C. Department of Corrections says two inmates were taken to the hospital. But it was sometimes hard for prison officers to find those shanks, Parsons said. 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. Meggan Callahan was killed by an inmate at Bertie Correctional Institution Wednesday evening. For the past nine years, Sapper has served as the operations manager for the Coastal Region, overseeing 12 prisons in eastern North Carolina. programs we write about. Copyright 2012 WBTV. NC prison officials asked for inmates' silence after killing - Corrections1 Officials: Lanesboro guard smuggled heroin for inmate