But only one shank was recovered. Inside his cell block, inmate Christopher Cook expects trouble. 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.. At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 18; more than a dozen missing, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh trial: What to know about the double murder case, Colombia wants to deport "cocaine hippos" to stop them from multiplying, Alex Murdaugh found guilty of murders of wife and son. [18] They are now suing the facility. Just out of view, in the lower right-hand corner of the video, a second fight erupts. An officer at the gate house said Wall was upset and had a gun visible in his car, which violates prison policy. By Ames Alexander - aalexander@charlotteobserver.com. 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. Polkton Police Chief Matthew Norris said he recovered the one shank in Walls desk drawer soon after the 2012 fight. September 2012 - The stabbing death of inmate Wesley Turner spurred an SBI investigation and led to three felony convictions. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Later that afternoon, Wall arrived at the Lanesboro parking lot, according to a prison document. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. 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. December 2010 - Thirteen inmates assaulted staff members in various attacks, state records show. The FBI investigated the case. Contact an Observer reporter: Ames Alexander | 704-358-5060 | aalexander@charlotteobserver.com, Gavin Off | 704-358-6038 | goff@charlotteobserver.com. Wynn alleges that Parsons was willfully and deliberately indifferent to his safety, in violation of his Constitutional right to protection from cruel and unusual punishment. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. They visited the office for about 15 minutes. 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. 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. In 2012, an inmate filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Lanesboro corrections officers cracked his skull with a baton and then destroyed a surveillance video that showed the assault. Wall said he put the shanks in the ceiling because he couldnt lock his desk drawer or file cabinet, his dismissal letter states. But, Cook said, Turner usually kept to himself. August 2011 - Eighteen inmates assaulted staff members throughout the month. [16] The group is believed to be responsible for the death of Jos Ismael Pedrosa, the director of the prison at the time. Others believe that it was somehow connected to his job. October 2016 - Former correctional officer Scarlette Hodges pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs, tobacco and other contraband to at least one inmate. The four staff members at the Lanesboro. The North Carolina . Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The state has recently made offers to about 400 officer candidates, so the vacancy rate will likely drop, Guice said. But by that time, the officer was already bleeding profusely. in Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement, A.S. in Criminal Justice, B.S. In such situations inmates will sometimes send associates to threaten the officers, or even assault them. Ortiz is scheduled to get out in 2019. He stretches his arms wide above his head, then lowers them and covers his mouth with both hands. As soon as the inmates entered D pod, Ortiz and Sorto attacked Cook, surveillance video shows. 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. (Parsons) told me I couldnt say anything about another sergeant bringing in marijuana, Wilburn testified. Soon afterward, the suspects were escorted into offices where they received medical treatment. Furthermore, gunshot wounds were mainly found in the face, head, throat and chest. Ortiz was sentenced to 37 to 57 months. in Justice Studies and M.S. Copyright 2012 WBTV. Statewide, about 16 percent of officer positions are vacant. State Bureau of Investigation agents say they are examining possible wrongdoing by former Lanesboro officers and cannot discuss the assertions by Vazquezs lawyers. RALEIGH, N.C. A prison officer and two inmates were injured during a fight at Lanesboro Correctional Institution Thursday morning, state prison officials said. In July 2013, 10 months after the attack, Bridges was at Lanesboro interviewing an inmate when she got a tip. 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. The indictment was unsealed today in federal court, following Blythers arrest by the FBI. All three of the convicted inmates have been transferred to other state prisons. Police are asking anyone with information related to the Easley murder to contact them immediately. Authorities believe all three of the convicted inmates had homemade knives, commonly known as shanks. Cook is unarmed. Cook suffered lacerations and puncture wounds. Two state investigators said they reached the same opinion. She earned an extra $36,500 in overtime that year, records show. 1992 military police killing of prisoners in Brazil, Act in memoriam of 111 prisoners dead in the incident. Roy Cooper has asked him to review the circumstances "to ensure this doesn't happen again.". Its the few who dont who make problems for everybody.. Blyther is charged with use of interstate facility to facilitate bribery, which carries a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine; extortion under color of official right, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a $250,000 fine; and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. Corrections officers recovered another improvised weapon at the scene a sharpened metal plate, which may have come from a prison door. The letter also stated that Wall intentionally tried to conceal contraband that might have been used for pending criminal charges or an internal investigation. The police released their dogs in the barber shop, where the wounded prisoners were taken. In court documents, Parsons has denied that. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. 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. Wynn alleges that another inmate stabbed him in the chest with a weapon resembling a filet knife, then threw a chair at him. Food Service Officer (Former Employee) - Wadesboro, NC - August 31, 2019. "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. Ballistic evidence indicated that 515 bullets were found in the prisoners. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. One Polk officer made $29,800 in salary in 2015. 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. When Callahan was attacked, two other officers were nearby, according to Anthony Jernigan, who heads the State Bureau of Investigation office that covers northeastern North Carolina. But while North Carolina typically hires about 1,800 to 2,000 prison officers per year, it usually loses about that many as well. The inmate was identified as 35-year-old Wesley Turner in a news release from N.C . Lanesboro Correctional Institution houses about 1,800 inmates in close, medium and minimum custody. Its so dangerous that some officers begin their work days by asking those coming off the previous shift how many assaults theyve just seen. Willis, G. D. (2002). Then they returned to D pod, the unit where they lived. [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. Starting in November 2013, more than 800 inmates at the prison were put on lockdown for several months after an attack injured a corrections officer. [9] Roberts and Jeremy Smith, the state-appointed lawyers who represented Vazquez, said they watched prison surveillance video taken on the day Turner was killed and learned the following: Around lunchtime on Sept. 28, 2012, Ortiz and Zelaya-Sorto, along with one or two inmates who were members of a gang called the United Blood Nation, were in an administrative office with Wall and an assistant unit manager. Soon afterward, he contacted a Lanesboro employee, asking her to retrieve the contraband from the ceiling of his old office, his dismissal letter states. Reporters interviewed Cook in March, two days after he was released from prison. Cook, the target of the 2012 attack, was released from prison in March. Hes a rookie at Lanesboro who is new to that job, still learning who to let in and who to keep out. / CBS/AP. 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 massacre, which left 111 prisoners dead, is considered by many people to be a major human rights violation. Many listings are from partners who compensate us, which may influence which Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Experts say such corruption jeopardizes prison workers, wastes taxpayer dollars and endangers the public. That works out to about one officer for every 29 inmates. John Sapper is appointed as the new administrator at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor. Friends and family described Juan Ortiz-Castillo as very jealous of his wife, according to police. [8], In April 2013, 23 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 156 years in prison each for the killing of 13 inmates. Other prisoners were killed by police dogs. His name has not been released. "You can only spread people so thin," she said. Another prisoner also slips through the door. Meggan Callahan was killed there allegedly by an inmate who beat her to death with a fire extinguisher. Why would you keep them there, with the risk of them getting into the hands of an inmate? she asked. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. Surveillance video from that day offers a look behind the prisons walls: Inmates mill about in a hallway, some high-fiving, others hugging or bumping fists, as if they are high-school students changing classes. To investigators and the killers lawyers, his meaning seemed clear: Keep your mouth shut. Authorities say prison Sgt. A veteran SC attorney weighs in, Alex Murdaugh murder trial jury begins deliberations same day 1 juror is removed. They assert that releasing the videos could jeopardize prison security. Do you want to share documents or information about the North Carolina prisons? Hours after the murder, video also shows Wall gesturing to the killer. Ten months later, significant amounts of contraband including video recordings and three bloody shanks were found in the ceiling above Walls office, according to his dismissal letter. A lock ( Bridges said she doesnt believe that. 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. But prison officials did release the monthly figures, which show that the prison had 211 officers available to work in April. Polkton is 45 miles southeast of Charlotte. In his testimony Tuesday, Wall said he had at one time kept the shanks in a safe in Parsons office but later moved them to his own office. Since the beginning of 2016, more than 30 stabbings occurred. He also said he had not kept a gun in plain view inside his car, contrary to what a corrections officer had reported. It was shocking to see the place wasnt being supervised with more of the restrictions that youd expect in a prison, she said. He was found dead in his cell the following morning, a victim of coronary artery disease. 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. Now two NC men face prison. Acree said thetwo correctional officersassaulted with a broom handlewere treated by prison medical staff. The Carandiru massacre (Portuguese: Massacre do Carandiru, Portuguese:[msaki du kdiu]) occurred on Friday, 2 October 1992, in Carandiru Penitentiary in So Paulo, Brazil, when military police stormed the penitentiary following a prison riot. Several days after the incident police still had not arrested a suspect or determined a motive for the murder. Roberts, one of Vazquezs attorneys, said he was surprised to see how freely inmates at Lanesboro were allowed to roam the prison. 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. Opened in the town of Polkton in 2004, the state-run prison has for years been plagued by stabbings, smuggled contraband and allegations of wrongdoing by corrections officers. In October, the prisons top administrator, David Mitchell, was injured after he was stabbed in the neck by an inmate wielding a plastic shank. A federal lawsuit, filed last month by five former Lanesboro inmates, alleges that corrections officers helped gang members wage attacks against other inmates. All charges in the indictment are allegations. Wilburn English, a prison sergeant who previously worked at Lanesboro, recalled a day when Parsons and Wall came to talk with him. Zelaya-Sorto pulls out a shank a handmade knife from inside his jumpsuit and lunges at Cook. Department spokesman Keith Acree said the two are being treated for their injuries at local hospitals. Ortiz, the inmate charged in that stabbing, said his weapon was a plastic toilet bowl cleaner with a sharpened end. An officer in a control room opened the door for them. One inmate warned Lanesboro prison officials that Latino gang members were armed with homemade knives and planning an attack. She and her colleagues in the Charlotte SBI office were frequently called to investigate crimes there, including officers charged with bringing drugs to inmates. Some facts related to events surrounding the murder of inmate Wesley Turner are drawn from prison surveillance video obtained by the Observer. But local law enforcement officials are optimistic about changes at Lanesboro. Another was criminally charged with bringing heroin to a prisoner. 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. The LCI housed medium and close-security inmates and was one of the states largest prisons. The incident was reported around1:30 p.m. at theLanesboro Correctional Institution in Polkton. October 04, 1992. Staff researcher Maria David and editor Rogelio Aranda contributed. 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. Zelaya-Sorto and Ortiz pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. In 2017, The New York Times published an article captioned "Brazils Deadly Prison System". 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. Recently, North Carolina inmates were able to smuggle a cell phone into the detention facility in which they were detained, and use it to orchestrate the kidnapping of the father of a prosecutor in the state. Where, she wondered, were the shanks used to attack Cook and Turner? Often, exhausted prison officers fall asleep on the job, too. Three correctional officers were assaulted late last week at the same state prison where an officer was killed two years ago. 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 father was eventually rescued relatively unharmed, but the incident was a reminder of how an incident originating inside a jail or prison can quickly turn into a dangerous situation on the outside. There are no national standards for minimum staffing at prisons, experts say. Wall was transferred to work at a different prison while under investigation in July 2013. Inmate Gregorio Cortez Vazquez pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder in Turners stabbing death and was sentenced to up 16 additional years in prison. In Lanesboro, as in many other prisons, gangs often battle for control over drugs and cellphones a lucrative trade for both inmates and corrupt officers. 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. He stretches his arms high. If Cooks DNA had turned up on any of the shanks in Walls office, that could have helped tie them to the attack. Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have also documented statistics of police violence and acquittals in Brazil. 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. Brian Dawe, executive director of the American Correctional Officer Intelligence Network (ACOIN), said Bertie like most of the nation's prisons appeared to be badly understaffed, based on the numbers that state prison officials provided to the Observer. Multiple attempts to reach Wall and Peguese including visits to their last known addresses in Anson County were unsuccessful. Bridges and a prison captain searched the ceiling and found videos of prison fights, nine rods, a long metal shank and three bloody shanks. The vigil and pleas for justice led to several trials for the officers involved in the massacre that same year. Seconds later, Ortiz grabs a shank from his waistband and also begins slashing Cook. In an email to the Observer, state prison leaders said they have no evidence to support that conversations and gestures with inmates seen in the surveillance video are anything other than normal discussions with the inmate population.. 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. By Ames Alexander, Gavin Off and Elizabeth Leland. According to charges contained in the federal indictment, Blyther worked as a correctional officer at the Lanesboro Correctional Institution (LCI), since renamed Anson Correctional Institution, a state prison located in Polkton, North Carolina. He would not discuss the lawsuit or his testimony with an Observer reporter. In a court filing, Wall denied the federal lawsuit claims, saying he never facilitated attacks or gave gang members preferential treatment. A prison officer and two inmates were injured during a fight at Lanesboro Correctional Institution Thursday morning, state prison officials said. All three are serving their sentences at other prisons. 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. Some family members believe that the murder may have been connected to an incident that occurred at a convenience store earlier in the week. The Killing Consensus: Homicide Detectives, Police that Kill and Organized Crime in Sio Paulo, Brazil. 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. 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Washington, of the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte, is in charge of the prosecution. [1], The incident was started by a prisoner revolt. Hands among the dead were found in front of the face or behind the head suggesting defensive positions. The weapons were found nearly a year and a half after the deadly fight, and forensic tests did not tie any of them to the attacks on Turner and Cook. Turner, 35, a convicted murderer nicknamed Thug Life, has served most of his 21-year prison sentence. 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. They contended those numbers constitute "sensitive public security information.". Angela Smith, who worked as. Officers sprint in behind Wall, cornering the three attackers. According to Acree, the prison is temporarily locked down while an investigation begins. No prison officials have been criminally charged. 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. Turner was scheduled to get out of prison this year, too. Relatives of those killed and human rights activists have both demanded and appealed for justice. in Criminal Justice - Corrections, and M.S. Testimony from former unit manager Jeffery Wall came during the second day of a civil trial examining whether Walls supervisor, the top official at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, ignored serious problems and allowed Wall to maintain a violent, contraband-driven fiefdom.. He ran over and subdued the prisoner. Wall, now 45, wouldnt talk to the Observer. Why fans love it. The current capacity of Lanesboro Correctional Institution is 1,400 adult male inmates. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Murder probe exposes more problems at Lanesboro prison, Former SC governor, Trump ally Nikki Haley coming to Myrtle Beach as she runs for president, Fort Mill just named its top teachers and staff members for 2023. According to Bridges, Wall told authorities he kept the shanks in his office because he was planning to put them in a display that would be used to train other officers. Meggan Callahan was beaten to death, Medical Marijuana bill passes NC Senate; some cannabis supporters against bill, 8-year-old helps raise money for favorite Waffle House worker in need of car, PLAN AHEAD: Latest Weather Forecast Video. News anchor Fred Shropshire is leaving Charlotte station WCNC. [2] The conflict consisted of 2,069 prisoners against 15 guards, resulting in the guards quickly losing control of the prisoners. At other prisons of comparable size, officers told the Observer, it's common for about 50 or 60 officers to work the day shift. Richard Dwyer, a prisoner at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, died Aug. 17 of an apparent suicide, a state Department of Public Safety news release said. POLKTON, N.C. -- Authorities in North Carolina say two supervisors were stabbed and two correctional officers were assaulted with a broom handle in an attack at a state prison. [21] Officers found Dwyer dead at 10:15. Special Agent in Charge John A. All rights reserved. The inmate was always in his office, and that was kind of unusual, Covington said. Wynn, who also took the stand Tuesday, testified that some inmates simply walked around prison metal detectors. 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.
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