lanesboro correctional officer killed

I believe its not a coincidence that they are in that office within minutes of carrying out that hit, Bridges told an Observer reporter. Furthermore, gunshot wounds were mainly found in the face, head, throat and chest. [11] On 16 February 2006, a Brazilian court voided Guimares' conviction because of mistrial claims; the court accepted his argument that he was only "following orders". ", NC prison was understaffed when Sgt. Vazquez, 32, had already been serving an eight- to 10-year sentence for second-degree murder. 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. Shortly after 3 p.m., almost three hours after the attack, correctional officers lead Vazquez into a nurses office. I would like to see the truth be told about what happens at Lanesboro. NC prison officers sleep on the job, putting lives at risk | Raleigh The LCI housed medium and close-security inmates and was one of the states largest prisons. Leandro Lo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Star, Killed in So Paulo - Sports Western North Carolina 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. 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.". Since the beginning of 2016, more than 30 stabbings occurred. Cook, the target of the 2012 attack, was released from prison in March. December 2010 - Thirteen inmates assaulted staff members in various attacks, state records show. 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. CO stabbed during inmate fight at NC prison - Corrections1 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4 correctional officers stabbed at North Carolina prison They are now suing the facility. Prison leaders plan to examine many factors, including staffing patterns, Guice said. Another was criminally charged with bringing heroin to a prisoner. October 2014 - Prison administrator David Mitchell was stabbed in the neck by an inmate wielding a plastic shank. Lo's lawyer confirmed to Brazilian news outlet G1 on Sunday that Lo was killed Saturday at a concert in So Paulo. We encourage you to perform your own independent 11.291 (IACmHR, Apr. Cary man becomes 27th North Carolinian charged in Capitol riot. October 2016 - Former correctional officer Scarlette Hodges pleaded guilty to smuggling drugs, tobacco and other contraband to at least one inmate. Department spokesman Keith Acree said the two are being treated for their injuries at local hospitals. in Justice Studies and M.S. Turner, who lived in D pod with the other three inmates, went through the door behind them. She and her colleagues in the Charlotte SBI office were frequently called to investigate crimes there, including officers charged with bringing drugs to inmates. He also said he had not kept a gun in plain view inside his car, contrary to what a corrections officer had reported. 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. 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] Authorities say prison Sgt. In 2014, we reported that an inmate stabbed a prison administrator as he walked through the prison recreation yard. 34/00, Case No. Heres a look at incidents at Lanesboro Correctional Institution since its opening in 2004: January 2009 - Inmate Bill Rayburn alleged he was repeatedly pepper-sprayed by correctional officers twice while he was naked after he requested medical help. 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. 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. He said he based his suspicions on information from inmate informants and prison surveillance video. It's as simple as that.". Thats Wall in the white shirt and tie entering the hallway on the video. Some family members believe that the murder may have been connected to an incident that occurred at a convenience store earlier in the week. Often, observers say, officers let inmates visit and congregate in administrative offices. NC prison officials asked for inmates' silence after Lanesboro killing Inmates catch a mid-morning nap at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, in Polkton. Later, an officer delivered other personal property to Wall, who had been waiting in front of the prison gatehouse. That works out to about one officer for every 29 inmates. Bridges said forensic tests did not conclusively tie any of the weapons in Walls office to the attack on Turner. Attorneys for Vazquez said their client never told them what led to the fight. Leandro Lo, a legendary jiu-jitsu fighter, was killed in Brazil, according to MMA Junkie.He was 33 years old. Less than an hour after the fight, SBI agent Audria Bridges began investigating the murder. Five years after the murder, Lanesboros problems continue. DPS names three new prison administrators | NC DPS Wynn, who also took the stand Tuesday, testified that some inmates simply walked around prison metal detectors. October 04, 1992. In a cell block inside one of the states most dangerous prisons, an inmate stabs a rival gang member over and over, 13 times. Ballistic evidence indicated that 515 bullets were found in the prisoners. He reportedly belonged to Cooks gang and planned to go to his defense. The massacre, which left 111 prisoners dead, is considered by many people to be a major human rights violation. Angela Smith, who worked as. 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. ANSON COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - One inmate is dead andanother injured after an incident at a state prison in Anson County. Where, she wondered, were the shanks used to attack Cook and Turner? 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. 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. 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. Asheville:(828) 271-4661. 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. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. If you go down to the local high school, you would see a way more controlled atmosphere than you saw in this video.. The state Department of Public Safety says an inmate at Bertie. State prison policy says weapons potential criminal evidence should be kept in a locked container in the prisons armory. Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison for murders of wife, son in June 2021. 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. Bridges said she hasnt watched all of the DVDs found in Walls ceiling, but has turned them over to the FBI. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. About 60 inmates were also near Callahan when she was attacked on April 26, Jernigan said. Now two NC men face prison. Another prison manager in that cramped office at the time told investigators that she was not paying attention as Wall spoke to the gang members, Bridges said. MMA Junkie says that police officer Henrique Otavio Oliveira Velozo is a suspect. Wall and another prison manager walk down the hallway minutes later, then stop outside the office. The prison is named for the nearby community of Lanesboro. They contended those numbers constitute "sensitive public security information.". One inmate warned Lanesboro prison officials that Latino gang members were armed with homemade knives and planning an attack. In my opinion, it didnt seem logical to hide them in the ceiling, she said. It is a close custody facility, which is the equivalent of maximum security. 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. A prison officer and two inmates were injured during a fight at Lanesboro Correctional Institution Thursday morning, state prison officials said. Prisoner dies in riot at Lanesboro - journalnow.com 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. He got the nickname Ghost Face as the only white kid hanging out in a Durham housing project. The police released their dogs in the barber shop, where the wounded prisoners were taken. At the time, she was responding to a fire that had been set inside the. Minutes before the Sept. 28, 2012, assault that killed Wesley Turner, two inmates involved visited the office of an assistant unit manager at the Anson County prison, State Bureau of Investigation agents say. 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. The indictment was unsealed today in federal court, following Blythers arrest by the FBI. They visited the office for about 15 minutes. The state says the prison was on lockdown while they investigated the incident. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. But it was sometimes hard for prison officers to find those shanks, Parsons said. A fellow prisoner, Joel Corto Ortiz, pleaded guilty to felony assault with a deadly weapon for stabbing Christopher Cook, another inmate who was seriously injured in the fight. In 2014, Vazquez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing Turner. In 2017, The New York Times published an article captioned "Brazils Deadly Prison System". In February, the FBI charged former Lanesboro officer Evangeline Hunt with smuggling in drugs and other contraband for inmates. At other prisons of comparable size, officers told the Observer, it's common for about 50 or 60 officers to work the day shift. [9] His friend may be next. 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. August 2011 - Eighteen inmates assaulted staff members throughout the month. His name has not been released. 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. Wesley Turner has come to defend Cook, his friend. 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. 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. 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. 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? The shank didnt belong there. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. The fatal fight broke out roughly five minutes after the inmates left the office. Cook is unarmed. Inmates at this prison are kept under close watch and have committed very serious crimes. 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. More than 45 N.C. prison officers have been fired . Gregorio Cortez Vazquez, who was accused of stabbing Turner, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday in Anson County Superior Court and was sentenced to up to 16 years. ". Guards allegedly opened 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. Bias Easley was a corrections officer at the Lanesboro Correctional Institute, near Wadesboro. Located in Polkton, about 45 miles east of Charlotte, Lanesboro has repeatedly drawn. All charges in the indictment are allegations. A veteran SC attorney weighs in, Alex Murdaugh murder trial jury begins deliberations same day 1 juror is removed. Walls dismissal letter, obtained by The Observer, states that he had hidden bloody weapons in the ceiling of his old office. Other prisoners were killed by police dogs. No, I dont think he would have.. His dismissal letter states that he helped create conditions that increased the chance of death or serious bodily injury to employees, inmates or the public. They were planning to go to that unit to settle a dispute with Cook, who belonged to a different gang. The. In October, the prisons top administrator, David Mitchell, was injured after he was stabbed in the neck by an inmate wielding a plastic shank. Wall told Bridges that he was asking about rumors of a planned attack on him. Here are his plans. They are joined by a third Latino gang member, Gregorio Vazquez, who is in prison for second-degree murder. An investigation by The Charlotte Observer last year found that state prison policies and management failures allow corruption and violence to thrive. [9] He ran over and subdued the prisoner. Combined, theyve been cited for dozens of offenses while in prison, including weapon possession, fighting and assault. Statewide, correctional officers received more than $12 million in overtime in 2015, the Observer found. This morning, Turner had warned Cook that Latino gang members planned to create trouble between the Bloods and the Folks. Soon, the three convicted inmates all reported gang members were waiting at the door that would allow them into E pod, an adjacent unit. Staff researcher Maria David and David Raynor of The (Raleigh) News & Observer contributed. Prison officials considered that a clear threat to staff. The Anson County Sheriff's Office says one inmate is dead and another was stabbed. Official websites use .gov 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. [19] In August 2013, another 25 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 624 years each for the deaths of 52 inmates. A spokesman for the N.C. Department of Corrections says two inmates were taken to the hospital. All rights reserved. The pay is low an average of the about $35,000 annually at maximum-security prisons and the work is dangerous and demanding. Its also unclear where Zelays-Sorto and Ortiz go immediately after the meeting breaks up. The Killing Consensus: Homicide Detectives, Police that Kill and Organized Crime in Sio Paulo, Brazil. SBI officials say theres no proof that happened in the Turner case. "I think if I hadn't gotten over there in time, (Mosley) probably would have cut her throat," McCoy said. Bridges, 46, a North Carolina State graduate and former Concord police officer, was familiar with Lanesboro. A North Carolina inmate has been sentenced to at least 12 more years in prison for the gang-related murder of a fellow inmate, a case that has exposed further problems at Lanesboro Correctional Institution. They have a very difficult job Most of them do it the right way. 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. Soon afterward, the suspects were escorted into offices where they received medical treatment. Jurors deliberated for about half an hour before convicting Mikel. Why did NC prison officer hide weapons in his office ceiling If (prison officials) cant answer that question, why cant they?. 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. They refuse. Wall was eventually fired in 2013, after Parsons had left Lanesboro and after the homemade shanks were found hidden in the ceiling of Walls office. September 2016 - Inmates stabbed a sergeant and a lieutenant at the prison, and hit two other officers with a broom handle. At 11:49 a.m., less than half an hour before the fatal fight begins, Wall walks into an office with an inmate. Both are members of the Folk Nation. FBI Arrests Corrections Officer For Smuggling A Controlled Substance At The incident was reported around 1:30 p.m. at the Lanesboro Correctional Institution in Polkton. WINDSOR, NC (Ames Alexander and Gavin Off/The Charlotte Observer) - Bertie Correctional Institution was understaffed the month that Sgt. The N.C. Department of Public Safety has declined the Observers requests for copies of the video, citing ongoing investigative reviews.. The three wait outside Cooks cell block for more than a minute. Feds, state investigating gangs at NC prison | Rock Hill Herald There, Ortiz and Zelaya-Sorto attacked and seriously injured inmate Christopher Cook. 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. Prison officer Megan Lee Callahan killed at Bertie Correctional By Ames Alexander, Gavin Off and Elizabeth Leland. Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have also documented statistics of police violence and acquittals in Brazil. Charlotte, NC 28202, Charlotte: (704) 344-6222 In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. 1 inmate dead after incident at correctional center - WSOC TV Turner, 35, a convicted murderer nicknamed Thug Life, has served most of his 21-year prison sentence. State officials say they are working to improve conditions at Lanesboro. According to Acree, the prison is temporarily locked down while an investigation begins. research before making any education decisions. He would not discuss the lawsuit or his testimony with an Observer reporter. As alleged in the indictment, as a correctional officer, Blythers duties included the supervision of inmates, and ensuring safe, secure and orderly prison operations. 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. A North Carolina inmate was found guilty Monday of murdering four prison workers during a failed escape attempt two years ago. "We've got a lot of folks who are not staying with us.". 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. A prison with 1,000 inmates should have a total of at least 300 to 350 officers, he said. In January, police and prosecutors teamed up with the prisons new administrator, John Herring, to begin criminally charging inmates caught with weapons. Later that afternoon, Wall arrived at the Lanesboro parking lot, according to a prison document. Surveillance video shows two of the attackers meeting with a unit manager shortly before the attack.. 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. Three officers assaulted at Bertie Correctional Institution - WITN News anchor Fred Shropshire is leaving Charlotte station WCNC. Hes a manager at Lanesboro Correctional Institution. First published on September 29, 2016 / 6:08 PM. The staffing shortages also put officers in danger, Smith said. in Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement, A.S. in Criminal Justice, B.S. Strong of the FBIs Charlotte Field Office, joins U.S. Attorney Murray in making the announcement. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety says a lieutenant and a sergeant were stabbed by inmates at Lanesboro Correctional Institution in Polkton around 2 p.m. Thursday. Brooke, James. But Vazquez stabbed and killed Turner using another improvised weapon, a sharpened metal plate. Suite 1650 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. 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. 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. A correctional officer in the state of North Carolina was recently murdered, just one month before his wedding. Officers skipped their required rounds at the prison the night Quick died, records show. Inmates sue staff of Lanesboro Correctional - WBTV News 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. He goes straight to Cook, who is bleeding, and motions for him to get down on his knees. Bertie isn't the only state prison with staffing problems. Are there more visitors than ever in Bradenton, Sarasota as peak season approaches? 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. The winner, from Charlotte, took her prize as a $600,000 lump sum, officials said. 111 Killed When Police Storm Brazilian Prison During Inmate Riot. The New York Times. Press TV on Twitter: "RT @PresstvExtra: At least 40 people have been Copyright 2012 WBTV. Lanesboro has a standard operating capacity of 864 close-custody male inmates, with 128 segregation cells and 8 health care beds. POLKTON, N.C. - A lieutenant and a sergeant were stabbed by inmates at Lanesboro Correctional Institution around 2 p.m. Thursday and are being treated for their injuries at local hospitals, a The two inmates meet in the office with Wall, other administrators and members of the United Blood Nation gang, off and on, for 17 minutes. The facility was a detention center, not a penitentiary, meaning that the inmates had not yet been tried or convicted.