Located in Polkton, about 45 miles east of Charlotte, Lanesboro has repeatedly drawn. Ortiz is scheduled to get out in 2019. Channel 9 has investigated Lanesboro, a maximum-security prison, for years. Most (of the prisons officers) are good, hard-working folks, said Underwood, the SBI supervisor. Prison leaders plan to examine many factors, including staffing patterns, Guice said. Theyre within feet of an officer who controls the locked door to the block. Lawsuit: Prison guards deleted beating video | wcnc.com All three belonged to gangs. 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. Official websites use .gov In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. He was scheduled to stay in jail until 2017. Bridges, 46, a North Carolina State graduate and former Concord police officer, was familiar with Lanesboro. "It's not safe," McCoy said. [21] 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. [5] No policemen were injured. Ballistic evidence indicated that 515 bullets were found in the prisoners. Carandiru massacre - Wikipedia Some family members believe that the murder may have been connected to an incident that occurred at a convenience store earlier in the week. Wall and another prison manager walk down the hallway minutes later, then stop outside the office. 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. If (prison officials) cant answer that question, why cant they?. A prison with 1,000 inmates should have a total of at least 300 to 350 officers, he said. 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. About 45 miles from Charlotte, just beyond a grove of trees, Lanesboro Correctional Institution houses some of the states most violent criminals. Bridges said she doesnt believe that. He stretches his arms wide above his head, then lowers them and covers his mouth with both hands. About 60 inmates were also near Callahan when she was attacked on April 26, Jernigan said. Meggan Callahan was killed there allegedly by an inmate who beat her to death with a fire extinguisher. Lock 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. 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.". The current capacity of Lanesboro Correctional Institution is 1,400 adult male inmates. Bridges said forensic tests did not conclusively tie any of the weapons in Walls office to the attack on Turner. 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. Later, investigators found bloody weapons hidden in the ceiling of Walls old office. Statewide, about 16 percent of officer positions are vacant. April 2011 - Richard Neely, a former top administrator at Lanesboro, was charged with felony obstruction of justice following allegations that he destroyed video footage that might have shown officers using excessive force in a fight with inmates. On the morning of Sept. 28, 2012, the day that Turner was stabbed to death, there were rumors of potential violence. But prison officials did release the monthly figures, which show that the prison had 211 officers available to work in April. ". B.S. The inmate was identified as 35-year-old Wesley Turner in a news release from N.C . "We've got a lot of folks who are not staying with us.". 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. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Ortiz was sentenced to 37 to 57 months. The letter also stated that Wall intentionally tried to conceal contraband that might have been used for pending criminal charges or an internal investigation. Several days after the incident police still had not arrested a suspect or determined a motive for the murder. Now two NC men face prison. 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. 34/00, Case No. [20] In April 2014, 15 additional policemen were sentenced to 48 years. He also said he had not kept a gun in plain view inside his car, contrary to what a corrections officer had reported. Five years after the murder, Lanesboros problems continue. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. Another officer suffered serious cuts to his face last month after he was assaulted by an inmate with a bladed weapon. 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. It's odd that (the gang members) are meeting with Wall minutes before the attack, Smith said. 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. 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. November 2013 - A gang member cut a correctional officer three times on the neck and face, requiring 39 stitches, according to a police report. Walls dismissal letter, obtained by The Observer, states that he had hidden bloody weapons in the ceiling of his old office. In an 11-week period in early 2016, more than 15 staff members left Lanesboro under suspicion of wrongdoing, Mitchell said. Before he left in 2016 to oversee 15 state prisons in western North Carolina, Mitchell told the Observer: Im certain there are people involved with gang activity that work here.. Prisoner dies in riot at Lanesboro - journalnow.com Inmates catch a mid-morning nap at Lanesboro Correctional Institution, in Polkton. December 2010 - Thirteen inmates assaulted staff members in various attacks, state records show. Corrections officers flocked to the scene after the stabbings, but only one shank was recovered. 227 West Trade St.
Two pending federal lawsuits allege that Wall and his officers sold weapons to gang members. Parsons testified that it was easy for inmates to make weapons, from broom handles, batteries and even toothbrushes. But Vazquez stabbed and killed Turner using another improvised weapon, a sharpened metal plate. 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. This morning, Turner had warned Cook that Latino gang members planned to create trouble between the Bloods and the Folks. She and her colleagues in the Charlotte SBI office were frequently called to investigate crimes there, including officers charged with bringing drugs to inmates. How serious Parsons was about keeping contraband out of the prison remains unclear. 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. 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. 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. Ortiz, the inmate charged in that stabbing, said his weapon was a plastic toilet bowl cleaner with a sharpened end. This story was originally published December 13, 2014, 4:41 PM. The Anson County Sheriff's Office says one inmate is dead and another was stabbed. 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. / CBS/AP. ", "The inmates literally say, 'You all are understaffed, so if we wanted to, we could overtake this prison.' 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. Hours after the murder, video also shows Wall gesturing to the killer. 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. The CO was reportedly stabbed and suffered heavy bleeding after responding to an inmate fight. Soon afterward, the suspects were escorted into offices where they received medical treatment. 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. Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have also documented statistics of police violence and acquittals in Brazil. NC inmates win payouts over prison violence - Burlington Times News Inmates sue staff of Lanesboro Correctional - WBTV News 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. Both are members of the Folk Nation. You're tired. An investigation by The Charlotte Observer found that state prison policies and management failures allow corruption to thrive. Ortiz later told investigators his weapon was a plastic toilet bowl cleaner with a sharpened end. The incident was reported around1:30 p.m. at theLanesboro Correctional Institution in Polkton. CO stabbed during inmate fight at NC prison - Corrections1 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. More than 45 N.C. prison officers have been fired . Another was criminally charged with bringing heroin to a prisoner. Your morale goes down," she said. At other prisons of comparable size, officers told the Observer, it's common for about 50 or 60 officers to work the day shift. Officials say the men used a homemade shank as a weapon. The three wait outside Cooks cell block for more than a minute. Relatives of those killed and human rights activists have both demanded and appealed for justice. 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. 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. 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. Food Service Officer (Former Employee) - Wadesboro, NC - August 31, 2019. 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. One of the officers seen making the keep-quiet gesture was Jeffery Wall, a former prison unit manager who was fired months after inmate Wesley Turners murder. Vazquez, 32, had already been serving an eight- to 10-year sentence for second-degree murder. programs we write about. His friend may be next. "If inmates wanted to jump another inmate or take somebody out that day, that would be the time to do it when you're understaffed. Officers found Dwyer dead at 10:15. Polkton is 45 miles southeast of Charlotte. Wynn, who is serving a life sentence following a 2008 murder conviction, was permanently disabled after one of the attacks, his lawyers say. He got the nickname Ghost Face as the only white kid hanging out in a Durham housing project. "All it would take is for five or ten guys to decide we're going to take over the prison. Copyright 2012 WBTV. 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. Inmate Donny Mosley, who is serving time for second-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon, had slashed her face and neck with a razor-like weapon. Turner walks over to Cook and they stand shoulder to shoulder, braced for an attack. [8], In April 2013, 23 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 156 years in prison each for the killing of 13 inmates. But, Cook said, Turner usually kept to himself. They are joined by a third Latino gang member, Gregorio Vazquez, who is in prison for second-degree murder. Special Agent in Charge John A. Prisons to weaken correctional officer vetting, critics says Cook is a leader of the Folk Nation, a rival gang, and he has heard rumors of escalating gang tensions. Vazquez and Zelaya-Sorto are scheduled for release in 2028. A female officer told Bridges that Wall just called looking for help. The inmate who spent time with Wall Joseph Sanderlin was involved in at least two attacks at Lanesboro, Wynns attorneys say. "And this time it came up snake eyes," he said. State prison leaders refused requests for all surveillance videos that show incidents in which Wall is accused of helping inmates wage attacks.