September 29, 2016 / 6:08 PM 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. "If you had more staff, then you might have been looking at hurt staff instead of dead staff" (on the day Callahan died), Harkins said. The indictment was unsealed today in federal court, following Blythers arrest by the FBI. Bridges said forensic tests did not conclusively tie any of the weapons in Walls office to the attack on Turner. WINDSOR, NC (Ames Alexander and Gavin Off/The Charlotte Observer) - Bertie Correctional Institution was understaffed the month that Sgt. The vigil and pleas for justice led to several trials for the officers involved in the massacre that same year. Wall is the first staff member to arrive. Turner was scheduled to get out of prison this year, too. The massacre also received attention from the BBC with several articles in the last several years dealing with the vigils and the trials. Bridges said that, in her opinion, Walls meeting with the Latino gang members was connected in some way with the subsequent fight. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Food Service Officer (Former Employee) - Wadesboro, NC - August 31, 2019. Do you want to share documents or information about the North Carolina prisons? Walker said she cant discuss specifics, but the investigation was not related to the Turner case. Officials say the men used a homemade shank as a weapon. The incident was reported around 1:30 p.m. at the Lanesboro Correctional Institution in Polkton. ANSONCOUNTY, N.C. -- A N.C. inmate has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that corrections officers at an Anson County prison cracked his skull with a baton . Following the attack, more than 800 inmates were put on lockdown for several months. "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. Jeremy Smith, who also represented Vazquez, formed the same opinion: Our theory is that, at best, the corrections officers knew (the attack) was going to happen and did nothing to stop it, he told the Observer. [19] In August 2013, another 25 policemen involved in the massacre were sentenced to 624 years each for the deaths of 52 inmates. Many listings are from partners who compensate us, which may influence which Tony Underwood, who headed the Charlotte areas SBI office at the time, said hes still troubled by what investigators learned about Walls relationship with inmates. The five men say they filed the lawsuit because of their time at Lanesboro Correctional Institution. No prison officials have been criminally charged. I characterize the lack of supervision there as, quite frankly, shocking, Roberts said. He sued and won a $10,000 settlement from the state. All rights reserved. The incident was reported around1:30 p.m. at theLanesboro Correctional Institution in Polkton. - 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. 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. Prosecutors later dismissed the charge because of problems with the credibility of witnesses. The suits also contend that Wall facilitated attacks on two other inmates the same year Turner was killed. In a recorded phone conversation, Hunt told a friend she knew a bunch of corrupt officers, according to an FBI affidavit. 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. Ortiz, the inmate charged in that stabbing, said his weapon was a plastic toilet bowl cleaner with a sharpened end. "You can only spread people so thin," she said. The confrontation began at about 8:30 a.m., when an inmate assaulted another inmate at . 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. Guards allegedly opened A female officer told Bridges that Wall just called looking for help. The officer said Wall asked her to go into his old office and retrieve a bag of shanks from the ceiling. Bertie now houses about 935 inmates. But, with the help of a source, the Observer obtained a prison surveillance video from the 2012 attack that killed inmate Wesley Turner, providing a rare glimpse into a prison murder. Wall had been assigned to another prison while the Turner investigation was underway. 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. It's odd that (the gang members) are meeting with Wall minutes before the attack, Smith said. The state Department of Public Safety says an inmate at Bertie. 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. The settlement was reached after the trio and two other state prisoners, Orlando Harshaw and Stacey Wynn, sued Lanesboro Correctional Institution Superintendent Lawrence Parsons and other prison officials for allowing and facilitating attacks by gang members in a part of the prison run by Unit Supervisor Jeffrey E. Wall. Hours after the murder, video also shows Wall gesturing to the killer. Attorneys for the state quizzed Wynn why he didnt take steps that might have allowed him to avoid the attack. Inside his cell block, inmate Christopher Cook expects trouble. Wall said he put the shanks in the ceiling because he couldnt lock his desk drawer or file cabinet, his dismissal letter states. The North Carolina . Prison inmate Mikel Brady guilty of killing 4 prison workers 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. This story was originally published December 13, 2014, 4:41 PM. ANSON COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - Three inmates from the Lanesboro Correctional Institute in Polkton have been indicted by an Anson County Grand Jury for the September 28, 2012 murder of a fellow inmate, and an assault on a second inmate. It's as simple as that.". Channel 9 has investigated Lanesboro, a maximum-security prison, for years. A federal lawsuit, filed last month by five former Lanesboro inmates, alleges that corrections officers helped gang members wage attacks against other inmates. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Washington, of the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte, is in charge of the prosecution. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The prison has a staff complement of 403 employees including correctional officers, administrators, food service, medical, dental and maintenance workers. 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. 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. One of those shanks was stained, possibly from blood, Bridges said. December 2010 - Thirteen inmates assaulted staff members in various attacks, state records show. Two other inmates involved in the gang-related fight that day Julio Alberto Zelaya-Sorto and Joel Corto Ortiz also pleaded guilty to felonies and had up to four and five years, respectively, added to their prison sentences. Inmates sue staff of Lanesboro Correctional - WBTV News In January, police and prosecutors teamed up with the prisons new administrator, John Herring, to begin criminally charging inmates caught with weapons. [21] Walls testimony was brief and he did not elaborate on the hidden weapons. 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. Three officers assaulted at Bertie Correctional Institution - WITN 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. Bias Easley was a corrections officer at the Lanesboro Correctional Institute, near Wadesboro. January 2013 - A former Lanesboro correctional officer began sending letters to state officials, describing several incidents in which some prison officials appeared to collude with gang members. [24] Consequently, the prosecutor is initiating an appeal and the process remains ongoing. Some family members believe that the murder may have been connected to an incident that occurred at a convenience store earlier in the week. State prison leaders refused requests for all surveillance videos that show incidents in which Wall is accused of helping inmates wage attacks. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Follow Press TV on Telegram: http://t.me . Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. He stretches his arms wide above his head, then lowers them and covers his mouth with both hands. One inmate dead, another injured in prison incident - WBTV Vazquez and Zelaya-Sorto are scheduled for release in 2028. 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. Angela Smith, who worked as. In October, the prisons top administrator, David Mitchell, was injured after he was stabbed in the neck by an inmate wielding a plastic shank. Correctional officers face significant dangers in their careers both inside and outside of prisons to which they are assigned. RT @PresstvExtra: At least 40 people have been killed in flooding and landslides in Brazil's So Paulo state, officials say. I would like to see the truth be told about what happens at Lanesboro. Working at Lanesboro Correctional Institution: 17 Reviews - Indeed 1 inmate dead after incident at correctional center - WSOC TV He died helping me, Cook wrote in a letter to the Observer. Wall, now 45, wouldnt talk to the Observer. His attorney, Joseph Ledford, wouldnt discuss his case and said he advised his client not to talk. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. The state says the prison was on lockdown while they investigated the incident. Bridges said she doesnt buy that explanation. Contact SAP - Penitentiary Administration of So - corrections.direct 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. 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. They have nothing to worry about, Wall told the officer, according to the document, because if I wanted to get anyone, I could get them touched from the outside.. The man turns and looks directly into the room. Accessed March 29, 2018. Turner, 35, had also been serving time for second-degree murder and was scheduled for release in 2017. Other prison staff members showed him where it was, he said. Where, she wondered, were the shanks used to attack Cook and Turner? Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. First published on September 29, 2016 / 6:08 PM. "All it would take is for five or ten guys to decide we're going to take over the prison. 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. 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. 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. Furthermore, gunshot wounds were mainly found in the face, head, throat and chest. Asheville:(828) 271-4661. Our site does not feature every educational option available on the market. According to the indictment, between August and September 2018, while employed at LCI as a correctional officer, Blyther accepted a bribe to smuggle a controlled substance into the LCI on behalf of an inmate housed at the facility. I didnt have enough cooperation to connect the dots, she said. 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. Seconds later, another prisoner follows. 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 But by that time, the officer was already bleeding profusely. An investigation by The Charlotte Observer found that state prison policies and management failures allow corruption to thrive. As soon as the inmates entered D pod, Ortiz and Sorto attacked Cook, surveillance video shows. 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Is the Anti-Colonial Rallying Cry that Thrash has Always Needed", Federal Correctional Institution, Talladega riot, Arizona State Prison Complex Lewis riot, United States Penitentiary, Florence riot, Agricultural Penitentiary of Monte Cristo riot, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carandiru_massacre&oldid=1140965457, People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Brazil, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Portuguese-language text, Articles needing additional references from September 2018, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The massacre is the subject of the song "Manifest" on the, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 17:49. It is a close custody facility, which is the equivalent of maximum security. They contended those numbers constitute "sensitive public security information.". Theyre within feet of an officer who controls the locked door to the block. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. North Carolina Correctional Officer Killed in Front of Home Lock Less than an hour after the fight, SBI agent Audria Bridges began investigating the murder. In 2014, a Lanesboro officer was paid $29,800 but made another $35,600 in overtime. Why would you keep them there, with the risk of them getting into the hands of an inmate? she asked. 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. What to know about daylight saving time in NC, Goofy dog had no adoption inquiries for months. Relatives of those killed and human rights activists have both demanded and appealed for justice. Several days after the incident police still had not arrested a suspect or determined a motive for the murder. 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.. February 2017 - Former officer Evangeline Hunt was charged with smuggling in drugs and other contraband for inmates. 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. 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. [16] The group is believed to be responsible for the death of Jos Ismael Pedrosa, the director of the prison at the time. Another prisoner also slips through the door. Walls dismissal letter, obtained by The Observer, states that he had hidden bloody weapons in the ceiling of his old office. Jurors deliberated for about half an hour before convicting Mikel. He said he based his suspicions on information from inmate informants and prison surveillance video. Prison officials considered that a clear threat to staff. The N.C. Department of Public Safety has declined the Observers requests for copies of the video, citing ongoing investigative reviews.. Driver arrested after video shows him nearly hitting students at their school bus stop. [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]. The massacre also gained international attention, with The New York Times, publishing one article titled "111 Killed When Police Storm Brazilian Prison During Inmate Riot" the same year as the massacre. 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. Prison surveillance video doesnt capture that meeting, so its unclear what they discussed. [10] He was in charge of the special police unit ROTA that is known for having an aggressive approach to civil disturbance. [12] Guimares, who was also a member of the So Paulo state legislature, was assassinated in September 2006. Prison officials investigated the murder, but refused to provide the Observer their report. Did prison guards conspire with inmates, gangs at North Carolina prison Five years after the murder, Lanesboros problems continue. 1992 military police killing of prisoners in Brazil, Act in memoriam of 111 prisoners dead in the incident. Zelaya-Sorto did reply to the Observer, but wrote only: Este caso esta serado This case is closed.. Multiple attempts to reach Wall and Peguese including visits to their last known addresses in Anson County were unsuccessful. But some experts interviewed by the Observer said that's a possibility. [2] The conflict consisted of 2,069 prisoners against 15 guards, resulting in the guards quickly losing control of the prisoners. Hes a rookie at Lanesboro who is new to that job, still learning who to let in and who to keep out. 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 a court filing, he said he never facilitated attacks. Hands among the dead were found in front of the face or behind the head suggesting defensive positions. Located in Polkton, about 45 miles east of Charlotte, Lanesboro has repeatedly drawn. [15] The surviving gang members joined forces with other prisoners to provide protection against the police. 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. Bridges said she doesnt believe that. But it was sometimes hard for prison officers to find those shanks, Parsons said. John Sapper is appointed as the new administrator at Bertie Correctional Institution in Windsor. The gashes in the officer's face and neck required 39 stitches. 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. 4 correctional officers stabbed at North Carolina prison Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough. Palmetto man sentenced to life in prison after stabbing wife to death, faking intruder, He found a clam on a Florida beach to make some chowder.