Six former prison guards charged in the death of a West Virginia inmate

Six former correctional officers at a West Virginia prison are facing federal charges in the death of an inmate who was attacked by a group of guards and died last year, the Justice Department said Thursday.

The inmate, Quantez Burks, 37, had been in the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, W.Va., for less than a day on March 1, 2022, when he was beaten by a group of officers and died the same day, said Matt Harman, an attorney for Mr. Burks’ family.

According to the indictment, which identified Mr. Burks only by his initials, an officer called for help after Mr. Burks “attempted to push past a correctional officer” while walking from a jail pod to a hallway.

Mr. Burks was then taken by three officers to a “blind corner” in the jail that was not monitored by security cameras, according to charging documents. There they attacked him “in retaliation” for trying to get past the officer, prosectors said.

According to the criminal complaint, one of the officers, Mark Holdren, told the other officers to lie to investigators and say that Mr. Burks had had a heart attack and that he had fought with officers. He also told the officers not to tell investigators that he and other officers had assaulted Mr. Burks, prosecutors said.

Mr. Burks had been jailed after firing a gun on his property and charged with wanton endangerment and obstruction of justice, Mr. Harman said.

The six former correctional officers – Mr Holdren, 39; Cory Snyder, 29; Johnathan Walters, 35; Jacob Boothe, 25; Ashley Toney, 23; and Chad Lester, 33, a former lieutenant – were each charged with conspiracy to cover up the use of unlawful force by omitting material information, and they were individually charged with several counts of giving false and misleading information to investigators, they said federal prosecutors in one rack on Thursday.

Mr. Lester, along with Mr. Holdren, Mr. Snyder, Ms. Toney and Mr. Boothe, was also charged with making false statements to the FBI about Mr. Burks’ death.

Attorneys for the six former officers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. It is unclear whether the officers were released from prison or resigned.

The main charges the former officers face carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The charges against the former officers on Thursday came after Southern Regional Jail came under scrutiny in a class-action lawsuit alleging that inmates at the jail were subjected to “inhumane” and “deplorable” treatment and conditions. According to federal court documents, that lawsuit is currently being resolved.

An initial autopsy on Mr. Burks conducted by the state concluded that he died of a heart attack, but members of his family later raised questions about his death when they saw his bruised and beaten body, Mr. Harman said. The family paid for a private autopsy, which found the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, neck, torso and extremities, as well as cardiovascular disease, Mr Harman said.

It is unclear whether the state has revised his initial autopsy. The West Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office did not immediately respond to a phone call Thursday.

“They beat this poor man to death,” Mr. Harman said, adding that the indictment was “an important step in finding out what really happened to Quantez and who is responsible.”

Mark Sorsaia, secretary of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement Thursday that his office, the governor’s office and the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation had alerted federal authorities to Mr. Burks’ death and had assisted in the research.

“We will not tolerate any form of abuse against inmates housed in our state facilities,” he said.

Mr. Harman said he was “begging” West Virginia Governor Jim Justice to make public all documents and recordings related to Mr. Burks’ death.