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The slain officer, Bias Easley, worked at the Lanesboro Correctional Institute, which is located near Wadesboro. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS An officer at the gate house said Wall was upset and had a gun visible in his car, which violates prison policy. Wesley Turner has come to defend Cook, his friend. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. In an 11-week period in early 2016, more than 15 staff members left Lanesboro under suspicion of wrongdoing, Mitchell said. The prison is named for the nearby community of Lanesboro. But Vazquez stabbed and killed Turner using another improvised weapon, a sharpened metal plate. He died helping me, Cook wrote in a letter 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. Officials say the men used a homemade shank as a weapon. He stares into the office for a few moments before walking away. [10] He was in charge of the special police unit ROTA that is known for having an aggressive approach to civil disturbance. 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. Press TV on Twitter: "RT @PresstvExtra: At least 40 people have been 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. Several days after the incident police still had not arrested a suspect or determined a motive for the murder. They are now suing the facility. Experts say such corruption jeopardizes prison workers, wastes taxpayer dollars and endangers the public. 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. "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. 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. The five men say they filed the lawsuit because of their time at Lanesboro Correctional Institution. John Sapper is appointed as the new administrator at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor. September 2016 - Inmates stabbed a sergeant and a lieutenant at the prison, and hit two other officers with a broom handle. Meggan Callahan was killed there allegedly by an inmate who beat her to death with a fire extinguisher. 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. That was one of three times inmates attacked Mitchell. Turner reportedly belonged to the same gang as Cook and was trying to go to his defense. The winner, from Charlotte, took her prize as a $600,000 lump sum, officials said. Our site does not feature every educational option available on the market. Its the few who dont who make problems for everybody.. I would like to see the truth be told about what happens at Lanesboro. In such situations inmates will sometimes send associates to threaten the officers, or even assault them. But if another staff member had been standing beside the officer that morning, "there's a possibility (Mosley) would have kept walking," McCoy said. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. September 2012 - The stabbing death of inmate Wesley Turner spurred an SBI investigation and led to three felony convictions. State prison officials refused to say how many staff were on duty the day Callahan died. 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. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. Working at Lanesboro Correctional Institution: 17 Reviews - Indeed 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. The military was given full command of the prison when arriving about 2:30 P.M..[4] Though the director wanted to negotiate with the prisoners by a megaphone, he was held back by his staff since the police almost crushed him. Do you want to share documents or information about the North Carolina prisons? 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. Both of the attacks involved weapons. Prison officer Megan Lee Callahan killed at Bertie Correctional The massacre has also sparked ongoing discussions, both in Brazil and internationally about Brazil's prison system. 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. 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. The Anson County Sheriff's Office says one inmate is dead and another was stabbed. Surveillance video shows two of the attackers meeting with a unit manager shortly before the attack.. It's odd that (the gang members) are meeting with Wall minutes before the attack, Smith 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 attackat a state prison. 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. This story was originally published December 13, 2014, 4:41 PM. Bertie now houses about 935 inmates. 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. [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]. Corrections officers recovered another improvised weapon at the scene a sharpened metal plate, which may have come from a prison door. The shank didnt belong there. 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. Walls dismissal letter, obtained by The Observer, states that he had hidden bloody weapons in the ceiling of his old office. Feds, state investigating gangs at NC prison | Rock Hill Herald Since the beginning of 2016, more than 30 stabbings occurred. If Cooks DNA had turned up on any of the shanks in Walls office, that could have helped tie them to the attack. 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. Cook is a leader of the Folk Nation, a rival gang, and he has heard rumors of escalating gang tensions. Police are asking anyone with information related to the Easley murder to contact them immediately. Cary man becomes 27th North Carolinian charged in Capitol riot. Soon, the three convicted inmates all reported gang members were waiting at the door that would allow them into E pod, an adjacent unit. 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. [1], The incident was started by a prisoner revolt. She earned an extra $36,500 in overtime that year, records show. Other prison staff members showed him where it was, he said. That explanation didnt make sense to Bridges. But local law enforcement officials are optimistic about changes at Lanesboro. 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. Acree said thetwo correctional officersassaulted with a broom handlewere treated by prison medical staff. Official websites use .gov He stretches his arms wide above his head, then lowers them and covers his mouth with both hands. 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. Later that afternoon, Wall arrived at the Lanesboro parking lot, according to a prison document. 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. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Zelaya-Sorto did reply to the Observer, but wrote only: Este caso esta serado This case is closed.. Turner walks over to Cook and they stand shoulder to shoulder, braced for an attack. They have a very difficult job Most of them do it the right way. 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. Theyre within feet of an officer who controls the locked door to the block. Multiple attempts to reach Wall and Peguese including visits to their last known addresses in Anson County were unsuccessful. Wynn said he did not want to be branded as a prison snitch, a label that can get inmates hurt. 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. I didnt have enough cooperation to connect the dots, she said. 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 acknowledged that he had heard complaints about Wall from officers at the prison, but they had no concrete evidence.. / CBS/AP. - 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. Bridges also questioned why Wall met with two gang members minutes before they attacked Cook. [14] Inmates at this prison are kept under close watch and have committed very serious crimes. In 2012, an inmate at Lanesboro Correctional Institution was killed during a gang fight. State prison policy says weapons potential criminal evidence should be kept in a locked container in the prisons armory. To investigators and the killers lawyers, his meaning seems clear: The man making that gesture isnt another inmate. 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. [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. "When your shift starts at 5:30 a.m. and you work 12 hours and you get told you're held over till 9 (p.m.) you're not alert. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Carandiru massacre - Wikipedia He was found dead in his cell the following morning, a victim of coronary artery disease. Later, investigators found bloody weapons hidden in the ceiling of Walls old office. Hodges was sentenced to two years in federal prison. Another officer suffered serious cuts to his face last month after he was assaulted by an inmate with a bladed weapon. The indictment was unsealed today in federal court, following Blyther's arrest by the FBI. They refuse. 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 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. He said I could face an EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) complaint for making false accusations.. Finding people who are willing to work as prison officers isn't easy. 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. In a recorded phone conversation, Hunt told a friend she knew a bunch of corrupt officers, according to an FBI affidavit. Seconds later, another prisoner follows. In a cell block inside one of the states most dangerous prisons, an inmate stabs a rival gang member over and over, 13 times. August 2011 - Eighteen inmates assaulted staff members throughout the month. 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. Lock Zelaya-Sorto and Ortiz pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. RALEIGH, N.C. A prison officer and two inmates were injured during a fight at Lanesboro Correctional Institution Thursday morning, state prison officials said. [21] Walker said she cant discuss specifics, but the investigation was not related to the Turner case. NC prison was understaffed when Sgt. Meggan Callahan was beaten - WBTV One inmate warned Lanesboro prison officials that Latino gang members were armed with homemade knives and planning an attack. 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. Editors note: This story is based on interviews with dozens of sources including inmates, investigators, lawyers and 19 current and former prison employees as well as court files, correspondence, criminal records and state prison documents. Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have also documented statistics of police violence and acquittals in Brazil. They visited the office for about 15 minutes. Vazquez and Zelaya-Sorto are scheduled for release in 2028. NC prison officials asked for inmates' silence after Lanesboro killing The staffing shortages also put officers in danger, Smith said. The inmate was identified as 35-year-old Wesley Turner in a news release from N.C . Wall was transferred to work at a different prison while under investigation in July 2013. Then he covers his mouth. He had 43. Inside his cell block, inmate Christopher Cook expects trouble. The police released their dogs in the barber shop, where the wounded prisoners were taken. in Criminal Justice, The Panopticon: The Controversy Over an 18th Century Prison Concept Thats Still in Use Today, Quick Work by Tennessee Correctional Officers Foils Escape Plan, California Correctional Officers Honored for Saving Lives While Off-Duty, Florida Corrections Officer Taken Hostage Found Unharmed, Correctional Center in Nome, Alaska Offers Job Training Workshops to Help Inmates Re-enter Society. They contended those numbers constitute "sensitive public security information.". In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. He said he based his suspicions on information from inmate informants and prison surveillance video. 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. 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. North Carolina Prisoners Sue Over Gang Violence, Obtain $62,500 The inmate who spent time with Wall Joseph Sanderlin was involved in at least two attacks at Lanesboro, Wynns attorneys say. According to Acree, the prison is temporarily locked down while an investigation begins. Accessed March 29, 2018. One Polk officer made $29,800 in salary in 2015. Why did NC prison officer hide weapons in his office ceiling 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. [19] In August 2013, another 25 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 624 years each for the deaths of 52 inmates. Western North Carolina Fan-favorite Buc-ees gas station confirms new Florida location near Interstate 75, Jo-To Japanese Steak House, a Bradenton-Sarasota landmark for 40 years, to close soon, Ghislaine Maxwell appeals verdict and 20-year sex-trafficking sentence, Judge releases Florida students jailed for posting TikTok videos with Nerf gun filter, Public has a right to know: Lawmakers seek to open Jeffrey Epstein grand jury records, 3 young teens charged with murder after 15-year-old shot in Bradenton, sheriff says, Deputies arrest Parrish student accused of making false tip of school shooting threat, Florida man known as Milkshake pleads guilty to assault in Jan. 6 Capitol Riot. In 2017, The New York Times published an article captioned "Brazils Deadly Prison System". In July 2013, 10 months after the attack, Bridges was at Lanesboro interviewing an inmate when she got a tip. The LCI housed medium and close-security inmates and was one of the states largest prisons. Others believe that it was somehow connected to his job. 227 West Trade St. 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. Turner, who lived in D pod with the other three inmates, went through the door behind them. [6], By the end of the day, 111 prisoners were dead; and 37 more were injured. [17], After years of national and international pressure, the prison was demolished on 8 December 2002, the former complex having been turned into a park. 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. Contact SAP - Penitentiary Administration of So Paulo (Secretaria da Administrao Penitenciria), Brazil, Corrections in So Paulo, So Paulo Brazil. in Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement, A.S. in Criminal Justice, B.S. Officers and staff have orchestrated illegal smuggling operations, beaten shackled inmates and engaged in sex with prisoners. We had about 7 officers overseeing about 30 inmates in a kitchen to make sure they followed the recipes.prepared and use the right utensils to serve the food. On the video, Cook, 41, is the tall inmate gesturing to other prisoners. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Lanesboro Correctional Institution Lanesboro Correctional Institution is located in Polkton North Carolina. They are joined by a third Latino gang member, Gregorio Vazquez, who is in prison for second-degree murder. Contact an Observer reporter: Ames Alexander | 704-358-5060 | aalexander@charlotteobserver.com, Gavin Off | 704-358-6038 | goff@charlotteobserver.com. Both are members of the Folk Nation. Two state investigators said they reached the same opinion. The facility houses medium- and close-security inmates. But Harkins said the numbers provided by North Carolina suggest Bertie was "severely understaffed.". Turner, 35, had also been serving time for second-degree murder and was scheduled for release in 2017. Four correctional officers at a North Carolina prison were hospitalized Thursday after they were stabbed by several inmates, officials said. If you go down to the local high school, you would see a way more controlled atmosphere than you saw in this video.. A federal lawsuit, filed last month by five former Lanesboro inmates, alleges that corrections officers helped gang members wage attacks against other inmates. 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. 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. Special Agent in Charge John A. 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. 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. Wall and another prison manager walk down the hallway minutes later, then stop outside the office. CHARLOTTE 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 represented one of the suspects said. 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. 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. 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. Hes a rookie at Lanesboro who is new to that job, still learning who to let in and who to keep out. If the officer knew an assault was going to take place, would he have opened the door? Bridges asked. Correctional officer, father of 2 killed in shooting - WSOC TV Authorities believe all three of the convicted inmates had homemade knives, commonly known as shanks. Reporters interviewed Cook in March, two days after he was released from prison. "It's not safe," McCoy said. 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. At no time did (I) knowingly or willingly allow any inmate to attack any inmate, he wrote. The vigil and pleas for justice led to several trials for the officers involved in the massacre that same year. Ortiz and Vazquez didnt respond to the Observers requests for information about the case. Why would you keep them there, with the risk of them getting into the hands of an inmate? she asked. In 2014, Vazquez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing Turner. It was shocking to see the place wasnt being supervised with more of the restrictions that youd expect in a prison, she said. 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. 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. 34/00, Case No. [9] In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. By Ames Alexander, Gavin Off and Elizabeth Leland. Roy Cooper has asked him to review the circumstances "to ensure this doesn't happen again.". A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. English said he had gathered evidence about another prison sergeant who worked for Wall and who he suspected was bringing drugs into the prison. 1992 military police killing of prisoners in Brazil, Act in memoriam of 111 prisoners dead in the incident. 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. "I think if I hadn't gotten over there in time, (Mosley) probably would have cut her throat," McCoy said. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. Located in Polkton, about 45 miles east of Charlotte, Lanesboro has repeatedly drawn. ANSON COUNTY, N.C. One inmate is dead after an incident at Lanesboro Correctional Center in Anson County. 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. In a court filing, Wall said he never facilitated attacks. The North Carolina . About 60 inmates were also near Callahan when she was attacked on April 26, Jernigan said. Some of the DVDs showed fights between inmates, Bridges said. Just out of view, in the lower right-hand corner of the video, a second fight erupts. I characterize the lack of supervision there as, quite frankly, shocking, Roberts said. 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. The N.C. Department of Public Safety has declined the Observers requests for copies of the video, citing ongoing investigative reviews.. Hands among the dead were found in front of the face or behind the head suggesting defensive positions. Cook, the target of the 2012 attack, was released from prison in March. Follow Press TV on Telegram: http://t.me . The letter also stated that Wall intentionally tried to conceal contraband that might have been used for pending criminal charges or an internal investigation. October 2016 - Former correctional officer Scarlette Hodges pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs, tobacco and other contraband to at least one inmate. He was sentenced to 32 to 48 months. Designed to hold 1,400 inmates, the prison has a staff of about 500. Five years after the murder, Lanesboros problems continue. Heres the list, Former Panthers site entrance, large home lots near Lake Wylie among Rock Hill plans, Death investigation after man found shot to death in Chester County, sheriff says, Man charged with DUI after 3-year-old child dies in Fort Mill car crash, police say, Powerful storm system across the East will impact the Rock Hill regions weather, Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife, son in June 2021, Alex Murdaughs attorneys say theyll appeal double-murder conviction, When is spring bike week 2023 happening in Myrtle Beach? Inmates within the LCI were prohibited from possessing controlled substances and are permitted to use controlled substances only when prescribed by a medical professional and under the direct supervision of LCI staff. 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.