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Adams County
Correctional Facility, Natchez, Mississippi
Jul
24, 2021 clarionledger.com
Miss.
ICE detention center violates COVID-19 protocols, medical unit needs
improvement
An
investigation by the U.S. Office of Inspector General at a Natchez federal
detention center for immigrants found violations of standards that
threatened the health, safety and rights of detainees. One detainee died
while in custody at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility,
according to a July 14 report about the investigation's findings. Office of
Inspector General investigators assigned to the Department of Homeland
Security discovered the violations during unannounced remote inspections of
Adams County Correctional Facility from January to February 2021. The
detainee who died requested medical attention for pain in his chest and
arms on Dec. 17, 2020. He was taken to the medical unit where he was
examined, but later released. While waiting to return to his cell, the man
collapsed. Medical staff and paramedics were unable to resuscitate him and
he was pronounced dead. ICE regulation violations included a lack of urgent
medical attention, detainees not following COVID-19 safety measures and
detention center staff failing to provide timely responses to detainee
grievances. Recommendations by the Office of Inspector General for
improvements to the facility included, among other things, developing
emergency care guidelines, documenting patient treatment during sick call
encounters, meeting ICE's COVID-19 guidelines and establishing a system to
ensure detainee requests are met in a timely manner. The report said the
facility needed to improve its COVID-19 response through better enforcement
of mask wearing and practicing social distancing. The report says 128
detainees tested positive for the coronavirus. To prevent the spread of the
virus, in 2020 the facility restricted or suspended certain activities like
in-person social visitation and library services, among other things. As of
March 2021, the restrictions remained in place, the report stated. 'A stain
on our country': ICE efforts to stop COVID-19 spread fail to protect
immigrant detainees from virus. The facility provides each detainee with
two reusable cloth masks and mandates they must be worn, but surveillance
footage from December 2020 to January 2021 revealed some detainees did not
wear masks or practice social distancing while in a group. In May, several
immigrants rights groups from Mississippi and Louisiana filed a civil
rights and liberties complaint against the Adams County Detention Center,
claiming the facility was endangering detainees' lives by ignoring COVID-19
safety protocols. In a letter, the organizations claimed the New Orleans
ICE Field Office violated COVID-19 safety policies issued by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including that detainees were
grouped in close quarters and not given access to necessities like soap.
Recommendations for improvement: The report provided seven recommendations
for staff at the ICE facility.
Those
in the first five bullets have been resolved by ICE and approved by
investigators. The detention facility is in the process of resolving the
last two:
1) Ensure the Adams medical unit develops emergency care guidelines,
documents patient treatment during sick call encounters, and documents
interpretation and medical care
provided based on laboratory testing results.
2)
Ensure Adams meets ICE's COVID-19 requirements for wearing masks and social
distancing.
3)
Ensure Adams reviews classification determinations, documents detainee
special 4) vulnerabilities and documents language used to conduct detainee
interviews.
4)
Ensure Adams establishes a grievance tracking system to ensure timely
responses to grievances.
5)
Ensure Adams provides detainees in segregation access to laundry, legal
materials, mail, required recreation time outside their cells, the
commissary (for those in administrative segregation), ICE request forms and
secure drop-boxes.
6)
Establish a system to ensure timely ICE responses to requests.
7)
Update ICE's contract with Adams to better identify requirements for
detainee housing.
May
22, 2019 clarionledger.com
Mississippi:
Using prisons as economic development
The end of a federal prison contract at the Adams
County Correctional Center, with its 389 employees and an annual payroll of
$16.4 million, will be a blow to the local economy, officials say. The prison near Natchez also contributes
$4.7 million annually in local taxes.
The federal Bureau of Prisons on May 1 opted not to renew the
contract for Nashville-based CoreCivic, once known as Corrections Corp. of
America. BOP's 10-year contract with
CoreCivic ends July 31. Florida-based GEO Group won the new contract for
the next 10 years to supply 5,000 federal beds for mostly detained undocumented
immigrants. "It has a huge impact on the economy in Adams
County," Adams County Economic Development Director Chandler Russ said
of the prison. Russ said there is a concerted effort among CoreCivic,
county officials and Mississippi's congressional delegation to try to keep
the prison from closing completely after the federal detainees are removed.
Russ said they hope to finding another contract for the $130 million
prison. "It's in the best interest of everyone to get it back up
running," he said. "We remain confident it will happen."
CoreCivics spokeswoman Amanda Gilchrist said the company will continue to
offer Adams County Correctional Center as a potential solution to meet the
needs of other government partners.
Meanwhile CoreCivic will work with the Bureau of Prisons to ensure a
safe and seamless transfer of inmates out of Adams County Correctional
Center, Gilchrist said. In 2012, there was a riot at the prison, in which a
guard was killed and 20 people injured, but Russ said the prison in recent
years has met all federal certifications and is a state-of-the art
facility. Gilchrist said CoreCivic will assist employees impacted by the
closure, and will provide them opportunities for transfer to other
CoreCivic facilities. However, CoreCivic has only one other facility in
Mississippi — the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler in
the Mississippi Delta. It is roughly 200 miles from the Adams County
prison.
May
1, 2019 globenewswire.com
Federal Bureau of Prisons Elects Not to Renew Contract at the Adams
County Correctional Center
NASHVILLE,
Tenn., May 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE: CXW)
(the “Company") announced today that the Federal Bureau of Prisons
("BOP") elected not to renew its contract at CoreCivic's owned
and operated 2,232-bed Adams County Correctional Center. For the year
ended December 31, 2018, the facility generated approximately $60.9 million
in revenue from the BOP. At this time, the BOP has not determined when it
will begin transferring inmates out of the facility, but the current contract
expires on July 31, 2019. CoreCivic will begin marketing the facility
to other potential government partners as it works with the BOP to develop
their transition plan. The Company does not expect this non-renewal to
have a material impact on the full year 2019 financial guidance released on
February 19, 2019.
Mar
24, 2015 dailyjournal.net
NATCHEZ,
Mississippi — Three inmates charged with planning to kill a guard during a
violent federal prison riot at Adams County Correctional Center will be
tried June 8 in U.S. District Court in Jackson. The Natchez Democrat
reports (http://bit.ly/1xrzkfO)
the trial had been scheduled for Monday but defense attorneys for Hector
Miguel Diaz-Osuna, Ernesto Granados and Juan Geraldo Arredondo asked for
more time to prepare. Prison guard Catlin Carithers was killed and 20
people were injured in the May 20, 2012, riot at the privately-run Adams
County Correctional Facility in Natchez, which holds immigrants convicted
of crimes while being in the U.S. illegally. The prison holds nearly 2,500
inmates, most of them convicted on charges of coming back to the U.S. after
deportation for being in the country illegally. The prison is operates by
Nashville, Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America, one of the
nation's largest private prison companies. Several other inmates have been
charged — or convicted — with participating in the riot, including Jesus
BeltranRodriguez and Ricardo GonzalezPorras. Rodriguez and Porras have
already pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. DiazOsuna is charged with
rioting, conspiracy to murder and a violation of the federal code
protecting officers and employees of the United States. Arredondo and
Granados are each charged with rioting. Damage to the Adams County
Correctional Center was estimated to be more than $1.3 million.
Feb
9, 2015 clarionledger.com
The second inmate in a month pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges
in the 2012 Adams County Correctional Facility riot that ended in the death
of a corrections officer. Jesus Beltran Rodriguez, 36, a federal inmate
from Mexico, pled guilty today, before U.S. Senior District Judge David C.
Bramlette III, to second degree murder, U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis
announced. The riot occurred at Adams County Correctional Facility on May
20, 2012. During the riot, several correctional officers were assaulted and
taken hostage, and Sgt. Catlin Carithers was killed when inmates attacked
him with a food tray. The hostages were held for several hours by
participants in the riot. At least 19 inmates were indicted on charges
related to the riot. Authorities say prisoners took food service carts out
of the dining hall and kitchen and stacked them on top of each other to
climb onto the roof where Carithers was beaten. It took hours for
authorities to control the riot, which involved hundreds of inmates, Total damage
to ACCC was estimated to be $1,305,142, according to the US Attorney's
Office. The prison held nearly 2,500 inmates, most of them convicted on
charges of returning to the U.S. after deportation for being in the country
illegally. The prison is owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections
Corporation of America, one of the nation's largest private prison
companies. Bramlette will sentence Rodriguez on May 19. He faces a maximum
sentence of life in prison and $250,000 fine. Ricardo Gonzalez-Porras, who pleaded
guilty in January, will be sentenced on April 7. He faces a maximum
sentence of life in prison and $250,000 fine.
Jun
13, 2014 sfgate.com
NATCHEZ,
Miss. (AP) — The attorney for an inmate indicted on federal charges of
conspiracy to commit murder related to a deadly prison riot in Mississippi
told a judge Thursday the defendant wasn't ready to plead guilty as
everyone expected. Jesus Beltran-Rodriguez was one of five inmates indicted
on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder in relation to the May 20, 2012,
riot at the Adams County Correctional Center. He had pleaded not guilty to
the charge May 22, but was scheduled for a change of plea hearing Thursday
in U.S. District Court in Natchez, according to The Natchez Democrat. In an
appearance before U.S. District Judge David Bramlette, Rodriguez, speaking
through an interpreter, told the judge he had questions for his attorney.
After a 15-minute conference, his attorney, Damon Stevenson of Jackson,
told Bramlette that he met with his client Monday and Rodriguez had
indicated at that time he was ready to move forward with the plea.
"Since Monday, it appears some issues have arisen," Stevenson said.
"He has been informed that mother is gravely ill, and he is very
emotional. At this time, I don't think he is able to think clearly."
Bramlette granted a request from Rodriguez's attorney to delay the plea
hearing. One guard was killed and 20 people were injured in the May 20,
2012, riot at the privately-run Adams County Correctional Facility in
Natchez, which holds immigrants convicted of crimes while being in the U.S.
illegally. Court records show Beltran-Rodriguez is one of the inmates
suspected of beating the guard, Catlin Carithers, who died. The prison
holds nearly 2,500 inmates, most of them convicted on charges of coming
back to the U.S. after deportation for being in the country illegally. The
prison is operates by Nashville, Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of
America, one of the nation's largest private prison companies. Several
other inmates have been charged — or convicted — with participating in the
riot.
May
30, 2014 clarionledger.com
Three
people have been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy to commit murder
related to a deadly prison riot in Mississippi. Federal prosecutors say in
a news release Friday that Hector Miguel Diaz-Osuna, Ricardo
Gonzalez-Porras and Jesus Beltran-Rodriguez were indicted by a grand jury.
Prosecutors say Gonzalez-Porras is also charged with assaulting a prison
guard. Two other defendants, Juan Geraldo Arredondo and Ernesto Granados,
are charged in the indictment with rioting. One guard was killed and 20
people were injured in the May 20, 2012, riot at the privately-run Adams
County Correctional Facility in Natchez, which holds immigrants convicted
of crimes while being in the U.S. illegally. Court records show
Beltran-Rodriguez is one of the inmates suspected of beating the guard,
Catlin Carithers, who died. The prison holds nearly 2,500 inmates, most of
them convicted on charges of coming back to the U.S. after deportation for
being in the country illegally. The prison is owned by Nashville,
Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America, one of the nation's largest
private prison companies. Several other inmates have been charged — or
convicted — with participating in the riot. Gerson Benavides was sentenced
Thursday in federal court to 75 months imprisonment. Benavides was
previously convicted of rioting at the Adams County Correctional Facility.
Benavides was also ordered to pay restitution of $1.3 million. Humberto
Cuellar was sentenced Thursday 110 months imprisonment. He also was
previously convicted of rioting. He also was ordered to pay restitution of $1.3
million. Correction officer Catlin Carithers was killed and 20 people were
injured as the riot grew to involve hundreds of inmates. They caused an
estimated $1.3 million in damage. The prison holds nearly 2,500 inmates,
most of them convicted on charges of coming back to the U.S. after
deportation for being in the country illegally. The FBI has said in court
records that the riot was started by a group of Mexican inmates, known as
Paisas, who were angry about what they considered poor food and medical care
and disrespectful guards. Paisas are a loosely affiliated group within the
prison, without ties to organized gangs, the FBI has said.
Mar
12, 2014 United States Attorney Gregory K. Davis
NINE
INMATES PLEAD GUILTY TO RIOTING AT ADAMS COUNTY CORRECTIONAL CENTER
Natchez, Miss. Gerson Benavides, age 30, Joel Oswaldo Ramirez-Nunez, 33,
Humberto Cuellar, 41 Hiasom Ali, 36, Raybel Granillo, 29, Margarito
Munoz-Astello, 37, Ricardo Quintana, 27, Ruben Coronado-Licon, 22, and
Bertil James, 38, pleaded guilty on March 11, 2014 before Senior U.S.
District Judge David C. Bramlette III, to one (1) count of Rioting in a
Federal Correctional Facility, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and
FBI Special Agent in Charge Daniel McMullen. The offense occurred on May
20, 2012 at the Adams County Correctional Center. During the riot, several
correctional officers were assaulted and one Correctional Officer (CO) died
as a result of injuries he received during these assaults. Other COs were
taken captive and held hostage for several hours by participants in the
riot. Total damage to ACCC was estimated to be $1,305,142.00. The
defendants were serving federal prison sentences at the prison. All of the
defendants with the exception of Ali and James are citizens Mexico. Ali and
James are citizens of Egypt and Trinidad and Tobago, respectively. Each
defendant faces a maximum prison sentence of ten years, fine of $250,000.00
and supervised release term of 3 years. The defendants will be sentenced on
May 29 and June 12, 2014. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, with assistance from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Pat Lemon is prosecuting the case.
Aug 15, 2013
tulsaworld.com
HOLDENVILLE - A fight between inmates at the Davis
Correctional Center last week resulted in two prisoners in hospitals and
the prison being locked down. The Davis facility is operated by Corrections
Corporation of America, a private prison contractor. It houses medium- and
maximum-security male inmates for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
When corrections officers tried to break up the altercation Friday night,
one of the inmates charged at an employee with a crude prison weapon
commonly called a "lock in a sock," a DOC incident report states.
Officers used pepper spray to subdue the prisoners, according to the
report. The fight was between suspected members of the "Irish
Mob" and "United Aryan Brotherhood" gangs, records indicate.
Afterward, staff members searched the cells of the inmates involved and
found numerous homemade metal weapons, other "lock in a sock"
weapons and bloody clothing. Friday's fight follows a June 30 gang brawl
that involved at least 20 prisoners fighting with handmade weapons at the
same prison. Several prisoners were taken to hospitals then. The June fight
involved members of the Indian Brotherhood and Crips gangs, according to
incident reports. In March, CCA officials declined to call a four-hour
disturbance at the Cushing prison they operate a riot, even though inmates
smashed windows, breached security doors and were pepper-sprayed after they
fashioned weapons from destroyed property, records show. CCA officials
characterized the incident as "inmates being disruptive in one of the
housing units." The inmates involved were prisoners of the Puerto
Rican government that CCA supervised under contract.
Private Prison, Public Problem: June 6, 2012, Jackson Free Press.
Excellent piece on how this prison was built and CCA's operations.
July
24, 2013 ktvu.com
JACKSON, Miss. — Ten people have been indicted for their roles in a riot at
a prison in Natchez that left one guard dead, federal authorities said
Wednesday. The indictments, announced Wednesday by FBI Special Agent In
Charge Daniel McMullen and U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Daniels, are in
addition to nine others previously charged in connection with the May 20,
2012, riot at the privately-run Adams County Correctional Center. The
prison is owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of
America, one of the nation's largest private prison companies. McMullen and
Daniels said the defendants were charged with instigating, conniving,
willfully attempting to cause, assisting, or conspiring to cause any mutiny
or riot at a federal correctional facility. Indicted were: Gerson
Benavides, 29; Adrian Romero-Carrera, 27; Carlos Flores, 40; Ruben
Coronado-Licon, 22; Ricardo Quintana, 28; Margarito Munoz-Astello, 36;
Bertil James, 38; Ian Jeffrey Reid, 43; Haisam Ali, 36; and Raybell
Granillo, 28. During the riot, several corrections officers were assaulted
and one officer, Catlin Carithers, died from injuries he received. Other
guards were held hostage for several hours. It took hours for authorities
to suppress the riot, which caused an estimated $1.3 million in damage.
Prosecutors have said that Marco Perez-Serrano, also known as Jesus
Fernando Ochoa, was the first inmate to attack Carithers during the riot.
Carithers died and 20 people were injured as the riot grew to involve
hundreds of inmates. Perez-Serrano pleaded not guilty in April to a charge
of rioting. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13 in U.S.
District Court in Natchez. Inmate Jesus Beltran-Rodriguez, also suspected
of beating Carithers, and Humberto Cuellar, accused of taking a different
guard hostage during the uprising, are scheduled for trial Oct. 7. They
have pleaded not guilty to rioting. The prison holds nearly 2,500 inmates,
most of them convicted on charges of coming back to the U.S. after
deportation for being in the country illegally.
July
20, 2013 blog.gulflive.com
JACKSON,
Mississippi -- An inmate suspected of participating in the fatal beating of
a guard during a prison riot in Mississippi last year is expected to plead
guilty next month. Prosecutors say Marco Perez-Serrano, also known as Jesus
Fernando Ochoa, was the first inmate to attack correction officer Catlin
Carithers during the riot at the privately run Adams County Correctional
Facility in Natchez on May 20, 2012. Carithers died and 20 people were
injured as the riot grew to involve hundreds of inmates. Perez-Serrano is
charged with rioting. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13 in
U.S. District Court in Natchez. His attorney, Joe Hollomon, did not
immediately respond to a phone message. The prison holds nearly 2,500
inmates, most of them convicted on charges of coming back to the U.S. after
deportation for being in the country illegally. The prison is owned by
Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America, one of the
nation's largest private prison companies. Several other inmates have been
charged with participating in the riot. Perez-Serrano was indicted in
February. He pleaded not guilty in April. An FBI affidavit filed in the
case said inmates stacked food service carts from the kitchen and climbed
on to a roof where Carithers was stationed with another guard. The
affidavit says Perez-Serrano was the first person seen attacking Carithers
when he hit him with a food tray. After other inmates joined in the attack
on Carithers, Perez-Serrano was seen hitting another guard with the tray,
according to the affidavit. The inmates used keys they took from the guards
to get into secured prison areas where more correction officers were
attacked, according to the affidavit. Perez-Serrano also was seen destroying
prison property, including a surveillance camera, and fought with members
of the special response teams that responded to the riot, authorities say.
Inmate Jesus Beltran-Rodriguez, also suspected of beating Carithers, and
Humberto Cuellar, accused of taking a different guard hostage during the
uprising, are scheduled for trial Oct. 7. They have pleaded not guilty to
rioting. Carithers family filed a federal lawsuit alleging that inadequate
staffing and poor treatment created a dangerous environment at the
facility. In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, CCA said it
"takes the safety and well-being of our staff very seriously, and we
work diligently to provide our dedicated correctional officers, chaplains,
nurses and teachers the training, security and support systems they need in
this very challenging field." "In addition to conducting our own
thorough review, we have cooperated fully with law enforcement throughout
their investigation of the incident, and we support full prosecution of
those inmates responsible for this disturbance," the statement said.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, said prison officials were
told by an informant days before the riot that the situation was becoming
volatile and that the officials failed to warn Carithers that he and other
guards were on an inmate "hit list." Carithers was off the day of
the riot but was called in to help, his family has said. The FBI has said
in court records that the riot was started by a group of Mexican inmates,
known as Paisas, who were angry about what they considered poor food and
medical care and disrespectful guards. Paisas are a loosely affiliated
group within the prison, without ties to organized gangs, the FBI has said.
It took hours for authorities to control the riot, which caused an
estimated $1.3 million in damage. The prison's special response team and
the Mississippi Highway Patrol's SWAT team worked to end the riot while
state and area law enforcement officers, some from neighboring Louisiana,
helped secure the outside.
Jul 6, 2013 necn.com
JACKSON,
Miss. (AP) — A prison company wants a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit
filed by relatives of a guard who was killed during a prison riot in
Mississippi. Correction officer Catlin Carithers was beaten to death during
the May 20, 2012, riot at the privately run Adams County Correctional
Facility in Natchez. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in
Natchez against Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America,
which runs the prison. The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, says
CCA "created a dangerous atmosphere for the correction officers by
depriving inmates of basic needs and treating them inhumanely." A
motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed Wednesday says, among other things,
that CCA is immune from the claims in the lawsuit because they are barred
"by the exclusive remedy provision in the Mississippi Workers'
Compensation Act." The argument is that workplace injuries should be
compensated by workers' compensation, not through litigation. "Carithers's
death was caused by the willful conduct of a third party (inmates) because
of his employment status as a correctional officer at ACCF and while
working on the job. Therefore, his death is compensable under the
Act," the motion said. The lawsuit says prison officials were told by
an informant in the days before the riot that the situation was becoming
volatile and that the officials failed to warn Carithers that he and other
guards were on an inmate "hit list." Besides the Workers'
Compensation Act, the motion provides an alternative argument to dismiss
the lawsuit — that the allegations fail to state a claim. "Defendants
did not assault or batter Carithers; inmates did. Moreover, regarding the
alleged failure to disclose the inmate informant's "black list"
report, the Complaint fails to allege the reliance, proximate causation,
and legal duty requirements of a fraudulent concealment claim," the
motion says. Carithers was off the day of the riot but was called in to
help, his family has said. It took hours for authorities to control the
riot, which grew to involve hundreds of inmates and injured at least 20
people. The prison holds nearly 2,500 inmates convicted of crimes while
being in the U.S. illegally. The FBI has said in court records that the
riot was started by a group of Mexican inmates, known as Paisas, who were
angry about what they considered poor food and medical care and
disrespectful guards. Paisas are a loosely affiliated group within the
prison, without ties to organized gangs, FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden has
said. Several inmates have been charged with rioting in the case. The
prison's special response team and the Mississippi Highway Patrol's SWAT
team worked to end the riot while state and area law enforcement officers,
some from neighboring Louisiana, helped secure the outside.
May 13, 2013 www.clarionledger.com
At
least one email allegedly sent by an inmate informant to the chief of
security at the Adams County Correctional Center predicted the riot that
broke out the next day resulting in a guard’s death. Other emails described
a “hit list” of prison guards, one of whom was the guard killed. In a
lawsuit filed in connection with the May 20 riot, the family of Sgt. Catlin
Carithers, the prison guard who was killed, point to these emails and
information from the informant as reason to believe Corrections Corporation
of America was negligent in Carithers’ death. CCA is the Nashville-based
parent company of the Natchez prison. According to copies of the emails
obtained by The Clarion-Ledger, the security chief was warned that the
leadership of certain prison groups wanted to meet with the warden to ask
for changes in medical, food, recreation and laundry arrangements. The
emails appear to have been sent to the prison’s security chief from an
inmate who had a cellphone inside the facility. At 10:14 p.m. on May 19,
the email writer says that the situation is more serious than prison
officials seemed to think. He indicated there would be meetings the next
day for the heads of the groups to list their requests to Warden Vance
Laughlin. The email characterizes one of the new leaders as having a
“couple riots on his belt,” and the informant believed most of the inmates
would follow him. “People will be ready 4 war tomorow (sic), I am not
joking,” he writes, going on to say, “Any officer that disrespect an inmate
will be punish (sic).” In the same email, the informant warns leaders would
present changes, and if the facility did not comply, they “will burn the
place down.” He then warns that it would be a peaceful demonstration, but
if the staff interfered, it could “get ugly.” He ends the email by telling
them to get ready, that this was serious, and could involve as many as
1,600 inmates. Up to 700 inmates are believed to have participated in the riot.
The prison holds nearly 2,500 inmates convicted of crimes while being in
the U.S. illegally. CCA officials would not comment on the informant’s
warnings but condemned the actions of the inmates. “CCA takes the safety
and well-being of our staff very seriously, and we work diligently to
provide our dedicated correctional officers, chaplains, nurses and teachers
the training, security and support systems they need in this very
challenging field,” said CCA spokesman Steve Owen. “In addition to
conducting our own thorough review, we have cooperated fully with law
enforcement throughout their investigation of the incident, and we support
full prosecution of those inmates responsible for this disturbance. There
is never an appropriate justification for an inmate to instigate and
participate in violence against a correctional officer.” Alex Friedmann, an
associate editor at Prison Legal News, said he corresponded with the
informant for several months. He said the informant told him when Laughlin
met with two men he thought were leaders, they assured him there would be
no problem. What the warden didn’t know was that those men were no longer
“shot callers.” “CCA didn’t know and these guys didn’t say they’d been
forced out by the other inmates. They weren’t aware these guys had no say
anymore and no power to control the guys in their groups. The next day the
inmates begin congregating on the yard,” he said. “The guys who were there
at the time took a strong, hard response, and they threw tear gas from the
roof to break up the congregation, and they climbed up on the roof and
assaulted the guards throwing tear gas at them.” Carithers, 24, was on that
roof. According to one of the emails, the writer also told prison officials
Carithers was one of several guards who was on a “hit list,” designated to
be injured or worse if there was any trouble. Inmates stacked food carts to
get to the roof to attack Carithers and the others. During the riot, fire
also broke out. Carithers wasn’t supposed to work on the Sunday of the riot.
He recently had received a promotion to senior corrections officer that
took him off the weekend shift. “They called him in for backup,” his
brother Josey Carithers said at the time. “I know my brother, and I bet he
got in his truck and hauled butt to go help. He was ready.” Emails
supposedly from the inmate to the chief of security a few days later said
he couldn’t accept that someone as young as Carithers died because of the
warden’s “stupidity.” The security chief wrote back saying he felt terrible
about it because he was the one who called Carithers to come into work on
his day off, resulting in his death. The lawsuit brought against CCA by
Carithers’ family is based on the claims that CCA was aware of the hit list
and was aware that officers on the hit list would be injured or punished.
Carithers was not warned when he was called into work that day. “The inmate
informant further asked why the Facility security officer put Catlin on the
front line when the facility administration knew he would be ‘eaten alive’
by the inmates,” the complaint states. The complaint also states CCA
officials put their guards in further danger by maintaining a less than
adequate staff with underequipped and undertrained officers. In addition,
the complaint states, CCA “further created a dangerous atmosphere for the
correction officers by depriving the inmates of basic needs and treating
them inhumanely.” The suit asks CCA for past medical expenses, pain and
suffering, emotional distress, funeral and related costs, future lost
income, future emotional distress, loss of consortium, attorney fees,
punitive damages, prejudgment and post judgment interest and any other
damages warranted under the circumstances. The family’s attorneys did not
return calls for comment, and both the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office
said they could not comment on the ongoing investigation. The FBI has said
in court records that the riot was started by a group of Mexican inmates,
known as Paisas. Paisas are a loosely affiliated group within the prison,
one of many groups referred to as “nations,” because they usually
congregate based on what country they are from or what language they speak,
Friedmann explained. Several inmates have been charged with rioting in the
case. One of them, Marco Perez-Serrano, has been identified as the first
person to attack Carithers when he hit him with a food tray. Carithers was
beaten to death with a lunch tray.
May 18, 2013 www.clarionledger.com
The
Corrections Corporation of America board chairman reportedly denied a request
at Thursday’s annual stockholders meeting for a moment of silence in memory
of murdered prison guard Catlin Carithers. Monday will mark one year since
Carithers was killed after being called in on his day off to help quell a
prison riot at the CCA-owned Adams County Correctional Center facility near
Natchez. Thursday was the first stockholders meeting since the May 20 riot.
Stockholder Alex Friedmann said when he asked for the moment of silence,
CCA Board Chairman John D. Ferguson refused to honor the request, saying
CCA had honored Carithers in other ways. The meeting was at CCA
headquarters in Nashville, where approximately 30 people stood outside,
some with signs, protesting the privately-run prison company. The meeting
inside was formal and businesslike, Friedman said, as only stockholders,
executives and staff are allowed to attend. Friedman, who said he owns CCA
stock in order to communicate issues with executives, previously served a
six year sentence at a CCA prison and is president of a watchdog nonprofit
group that opposes private prisons called Private Corrections Institute.
“In that one meeting CCA would not give 30 seconds of respect (for
Carithers),” Friedman said. “It speaks volumes how the company thinks of
its employees and how it treats them.” CCA spokesman Steve Owen said in an
emailed response that Friedman “would stop at nothing” to disparage CCA and
its employees. “Yesterday, professional corrections critic Alex Friedman
shamefully attempted to exploit the tragic death of Catlin for his own
personal agenda,” Owens said. “These antics do not honor his memory.”
Friedman said a number of other “activist stockholders” attended Thursday’s
meeting, including members of the Jesuits religious order and other
religious groups. Owens said CCA has “honored his memory in a number of
ways, both at the Adams County Correctional Facility and throughout the
company.” The family of Carithers filed a lawsuit this month in connection
with the May 20 riot saying CCA was negligent in Carithers’ death. The
lawsuit cites information from an informant predicting the riot and
suggesting Carithers was on a “hit list.” Friedman said he attended a CCA
stockholders meeting in 2008 when the board honored someone’s memory with a
moment of silence, but he believed the board had a different chairman at
the time. “This is the only time, at the annual meeting, that shareholders
could recognize Mr. Carithers,” Friedman said. Owen said CCA takes the
safety and well-being of the staff very seriously, and the entire CCA family
has been “deeply saddened” by Carithers’ loss. A federal judge recently
rescheduled the trial of an inmate who is accused of being the first person
to attack Carithers during the riot, in which 20 others were injured, for
Aug. 19. In other CCA news, The Natchez Democrat reports that a new company
will take over operations of a facility in Wilkinson County, which is
currently run by CCA, in July. Management and Training Corporation, a
Utah-based private corrections company, reportedly received a five-year
contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections to operate the
facility.
May 2013 Associated Press Newswires
JACKSON,
Miss. (AP) - The family of a guard killed during a prison riot in
Mississippi filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday that says inadequate staffing
and poor treatment created a dangerous environment at the facility.
Correction officer Catlin Carithers was beaten to death during the May 20,
2012, riot at the privately run Adams County Correctional Facility in
Natchez. It took hours for authorities to control the riot, which grew to
involve hundreds of inmates and injured at least 20 people. The lawsuit was
filed in U.S. District Court in Natchez against Nashville, Tenn.-based
Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the prison. A CCA spokesman
didn't immediately respond to phone and email messages Wednesday. CCA
"created a dangerous atmosphere for the correction officers by
depriving inmates of basic needs and treating them inhumanely," the
lawsuit says. It also says that prison officials were told by an informant
in the days before the riot that the situation was becoming volatile and
that the officials failed to warn Carithers that he and other guards were
on an inmate "hit list." Carithers was off the day of the riot
but was called in to help, his family has said. The prison holds nearly
2,500 inmates convicted of crimes while being in the U.S. illegally. The
FBI has said in court records that the riot was started by a group of
Mexican inmates, known as Paisas, who were angry about what they considered
poor food and medical care and disrespectful guards. Paisas are a loosely
affiliated group within the prison, without ties to organized gangs, FBI
spokeswoman Deborah Madden has said. Several inmates have been charged with
rioting in the case. One of them, Marco Perez-Serrano, has been identified
as the first person to attack Carithers when he hit him with a food tray. A
complaint filed by an FBI agent says prisoners took food service carts out
of the dining hall and kitchen and stacked them on top of each other to
climb onto the roof, where Carithers was working. Carithers joined CCA in
2009. His cousin, Jason Clark, told The Associated Press in an interview
after the riot that Carithers was engaged to be married and excited about a
recent promotion that took him off weekend shifts. He had been trained in
recent years as part of the prison's special response team and was called
to work Sunday to help with the uprising, Clark said at the time. The
prison's special response team and the Mississippi Highway Patrol's SWAT
team worked to end the riot while state and area law enforcement officers,
some from neighboring Louisiana, helped secure the outside.
October 12, 2012
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NATCHEZ, Miss. — A federal grand jury has indicted an inmate who
authorities have identified as an alleged instigator of the May 20 prison
riot at the Adams County Correctional Center that left a guard dead. The
Natchez Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/X0841l ) that Yoany Oriel
Serrano-Bejarano has been charged with instigating and conspiring to cause
the riot. Court records say prisoners were angry about their treatment the
day the riot erupted. In September, an FBI agent stated in an affidavit
that Serrano-Bejarano was one of a number of inmates who stacked food carts
in order to reach correctional officers on the roof of one of the prison's
buildings during the riot. Prison guard Catlin Carithers was assaulted on
the roof and later died from his injuries. At least 20 people were injured.
Authorities say Serrano-Bejarano had a prison staff radio during the riot,
assaulted a hostage and contributed to the destruction at the facility. The
prison holds nearly 2,500 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes in the
United States. It's owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation
of America, one of the nation's largest private prison companies. An FBI
agent's affidavit in the case said the riot was started by a group of
Mexican inmates, known as Paisas, who were angry about what they considered
poor food and medical care and disrespectful guards. Paisas are a loosely
affiliated group within the prison, without ties to organized gangs, FBI
spokeswoman Deborah Madden said. Court records show Serrano-Bejarano was
released from prison Aug. 28 for his previous crimes, but has been in
federal custody since Sept. 5. Another inmate, Juan Lopez-Fuentes, pleaded
guilty in August to charges related to the riot and is scheduled to be
sentenced Nov. 19.
September 6, 2012 AP
One inmate has pleaded guilty to participating in a deadly prison riot in
Mississippi, while a second prisoner has been charged in the case. One
guard was killed and 20 people were injured in the May 20 riot at the
privately-run Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez, which holds
illegal immigrants convicted of crimes in the United States. Yoany Oriel
Serrano-Bejarano was charged Tuesday. A complaint filed by an FBI agent
says he assaulted a guard and helped other inmates climb onto the roof of a
building where correction officer Catlin Carithers was beaten to death. The
affidavit says prisoners took food service carts out of the dining hall and
kitchen and stacked them on top of each other to climb onto the roof where
Carithers was assaulted. "Serrano-Bejarano has been identified as one
of the inmates who held the food carts so the inmates could access the
roof," the complaint says. The court documents also say that
Serrano-Bejarano assaulted a different guard, was seen with a prison
guard's radio, and destroyed cameras and windows. Serrano-Bejarano is at
least the second inmate charged in the case. Court records did not list an
attorney for him. Juan Lopez-Fuentes pleaded guilty to participating in the
riot during a hearing Aug. 27 in U.S. District Court in Natchez. He faces
up to 10 years in prison at sentencing on Nov. 19. Lopez-Fuentes was
charged with leading a group of inmates who took hostages in one section of
the prison. He forced one of the hostages to relay orders for tactical
teams to drop their weapons and back off, according to court records in his
case. Lopez-Fuentes was serving time for two previous felonies at the time
and was facing deportation. The FBI affidavit doesn't say why
Serrano-Bejarano was being held in the prison, though it says he was
released Aug. 28 and turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs
enforcement for deportation. The criminal charge will allow authorities to
hold him pending the outcome of the case. Court records say the prisoners
were angry about their treatment the day the riot erupted. The prison holds
nearly 2,500 illegal immigrants, most of them convicted on charges of
coming back to the U.S. after being deported. The prison is owned by
Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corporation of America, one of the
nation's largest private prison companies. The FBI says in court records
that the riot was started by a group of Mexican inmates, known as Paisas,
who were angry about what they considered poor food and medical care and
disrespectful guards. Paisas are a loosely affiliated group within the
prison, without ties to organized gangs, FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden has
said. It took hours for authorities to control the riot, which grew to
involve hundreds of inmates and caused an estimated $1.3 million in damage.
The prison's special response team and the Mississippi Highway Patrol's
SWAT team worked to end the riot while state and area law enforcement
officers, some from neighboring Louisiana, helped secure the outside.
August 14, 2012 Commercial
Appeal
A deadly riot at a prison for illegal immigrants in Mississippi was started
by a group of Mexican inmates angry about what they considered poor food
and medical care and disrespectful guards, according to an FBI agent's
affidavit. One guard was killed and 20 people were injured in the May 20
riot at the privately-run Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez,
which holds illegal immigrants convicted of crimes in the U.S. The leaders
of the Mexican inmates, known as the Paisas, demanded to take a list of
grievances to the warden that day and told others in the group to disobey
orders from prison staff, according to the FBI affidavit. The affidavit,
filed last week in U.S. District Court in Jackson, is part of a complaint
charging one of the inmates with rioting. Correction officer Catlin
Carithers was beaten to death during the riot, which officials have said
involved as many as 300 inmates and left the prison badly damaged. The
affidavit does not say who killed Carithers. The affidavit says the Paisas
were the most influential group in the prison. But it had recently gone
through a shake-up in its leadership because members thought the old
leaders weren't effective in communicating complaints to prison officials.
The new leaders — Ernesto "Neto" Granados and Juan
"Bobby" Arredondo — allegedly ordered the Paisas to disobey
prison staff by refusing to return to their cells until their demands were
met. FBI spokeswoman Deborah Madden said Paisas are a loosely affiliated
group within the prison, without ties to organized gangs. "The Paisas
were further instructed by their new leaders to destroy the prison if staff
made any attempts to break up the riot," the affidavit said. It says
damages to the prison are estimated at more than $1.3 million. "In
addition to destroying the prison, Paisas planned to assault the correction
officers." At one point, the inmates gained access to a section of the
prison by telling the warden they wanted to go back to their cells, but
they ended up taking more hostages once they got into that part of the
facility, the affidavit said. Other inmates were able to break through a
fence and get a 32-foot ladder, which they used to get on the roof of a
building. That's where Carithers was killed. The affidavit describes a
chaotic scene in which inmates were picking up tear gas canisters and hurling
them back at guards. Some guards locked themselves in safe rooms, but the
inmates used keys taken from other officers to get into the rooms. They
also looted the kitchen and commissary. The affidavit is part of a criminal
complaint that alleges that Juan Lopez-Fuentes was in charge of a group of
inmates who took hostages in one section of the prison. Lopez-Fuentes
allegedly forced one of the hostages, a prison guard, to relay orders for
tactical teams to drop their weapons and back off. The prison's special
response team and the Mississippi Highway Patrol's SWAT team worked to end
the riot while state and area law enforcement officers, some from
neighboring Louisiana, helped secure the outside, officials have said. The
prison holds nearly 2,500 low-security inmates, with most serving time for
coming back to the United States after being deported. The facility is
owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corp. of America, one of the
nation's largest private prison companies.
May 22, 2012 Colorlines.com
A Mississippi jail is on lockdown today after a Sunday night riot left one
prison guard dead and as many as 20 inmates and guards injured. According
to sheriff’s reports, the violence began as a gang feud and soon engulfed
the privately operated facility, which holds 2,500 non-citizens
incarcerated for reentering the United States after deportation and for
other charges. But the fragments of information that have emerged from
inmates and advocates suggest that the violence had more to do with a
pattern of abuse and neglect that has emerged at privately run, for-profit
prisons. The Adams County sheriff’s office and the Corrections Corporation
of America, the behemoth prison company that operates the facility for the
federal Bureau of Prisons, have tightly controlled news of the riot and
what caused it. In statements, officials say the violence emerged out of
thin air and soon “turned into a mob mentality,” according to Adams County
Sheriff Chuck Mayfield. “This could have happened anywhere, anytime,”
Mayfield told the Associated Press. Prison watchdogs say that’s not
necessarily true. What little independent information that has emerged from
inside Adams County Correctional Center suggests a different story—one of
mistreatment and abuse at the hands of guards that may have reached a
breaking point. At 5 p.m. on Sunday evening, an inmate reportedly phoned a
local TV station with a cell phone, sending photos to confirm that he was
indeed held inside the facility. “They always beat us and hit us,” the
prisoner told the local reporter. “We just pay them back. We’re trying to
get better food, medical (care), programs, clothes, and we’re trying to get
some respect from the officers and lieutenants.” According to the news
report, the prisoner said that nine guards had been taken hostage. In an
interview with Colorlines.com, Patricia Ice, who directs the legal program
at the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, said that her organization
has heard reports of neglect and abuse inside the Adams County facility.
Ice said she received a call last month from a California woman who
reported medical neglect of a family member in the jail. “I got a complaint
from a family member saying that a man had lung cancer and was being
ignored,” Ice said. “Three weeks earlier, he was examined by a doctor and
diagnosed with lung cancer but had not received any treatment at all.”
Prisoners' rights advocates say that the accounts of these inmates are
consistent with documented conditions in private prison facilities around
the country. “Private prisons have a financial incentive to spend as little
as possible in order to make a greater profit,” said Bob Libal of
Grassroots Leadership. Libal is a longtime advocate for the rights of
prisoners held in private facilities. “They skimp on staff salaries and
training, which leads to high turnover rates. They spend as little as
possible on services in order to maximize profit. This mentality leads to
poorly run facilities where abuse, neglect and prisoner uprisings are
common.”
May 22, 2012 Clarion
Ledger
A U.S. Representative is calling for an investigation into the Adams County
Correctional Center, where a riot on Sunday left a guard dead and several
other people injured. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., is the ranking Democrat on
the House Homeland Security Committee, and thus oversees the Bureau of
Prisons. WAPT-16 reports he has called the inspector general to start the
inquiry into the facility and how it manages inmates. "There are some
issues with the privately run facilities, so I think between the Bureau of
Prisons and the Department of Homeland Security, you will see some
restricting of that process," Thompson said.
May 21, 2012 Clarion
Ledger
At least one former employee of the Adams County Correctional Center
said he was sad but not surprised when he heard that things had turned
violent inside the facility. Donnie Hedgepeth of Lincoln County said he
worked there when the facility opened in 2009 until sometime in 2010. He
said he quit his job because he believed the jailers were outnumbered.
"I told everyone before I left, 'I know what's going to happen,'"
he said. "It was too unsafe the way it was. There were too many
prisoners for each guard." Hedgepeth said when he worked there the
ratio was somewhere between 200 and 300 prisoners per guard. There was one
guard per pod of up to 300 prisoners, and three pods per dorm. Each dorm
had one officer per pod, he said. "I don't know that it's still like
that. It could have changed," he said. "But I didn't like working
there. It was too unsafe for me." Emilee Beach, a prison spokeswoman,
did not return an email seeking comment on how many corrections officers
there were as opposed to prisoners.
May 21, 2012 AP
As many as 300 inmates, some of them armed with makeshift weapons such
as broomsticks, rioted at a privately run prison for illegal immigrants,
beating a guard to death and injuring 19 people, a sheriff said Monday.
More than two dozen officers were held hostage at some point during the
hours-long spate of violence Sunday, including a group of 15 who had to be
rescued by special response teams, Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield
said. A gang fight set off the violence, the sheriff said. The guard was
killed on the roof of one of the prison buildings. Sixteen prison employees
were treated for various injuries and released from a hospital. Three
inmates were hurt, officials said. The Adams County Correctional Facility
holds nearly 2,500 illegal immigrants, with most serving time for coming
back to the United States after being deported, said Emilee Beach, a prison
spokeswoman. Some of the inmates have also been convicted of other crimes.
The guard killed was identified as Catlin Carithers, who joined Corrections
Corporation of America in 2009 and was a senior correctional officer, the
Nashville, Tenn.-based company said on its website. CCA is one of the
largest private prison companies in the country. Carithers' cousin, Jason
Clark, said the slain guard was engaged and was excited about a recent
promotion that took him off the weekend shifts. He had been trained in
recent years as part of the prison's special response team and was called
into work Sunday to help with the uprising. "He liked protecting people,"
Clark said, adding that his cousin had worked as a volunteer firefighter.
It wasn't immediately clear if the gang fight started between members of
the same gang or rival groups, but the situation escalated quickly and
spread throughout the prison, Mayfield said. "They had makeshift
weapons, broom handles, mop handles, anything they could pull apart,
trashcan lids for shields, anything they could grab," Mayfield said.
At one point, the inmates set a fire in the prison yard. Frank Smith, who
runs the online prison watchdog group Private Corrections Working Group,
said riots are usually caused by poor conditions, but the sheriff said that
was not the case. "The big problem is CCA tries to cut corners in
every possible way. They short-staff, the don't fix equipment, and things
just get more and more out of control, and that's what leads to these
riots. It's just about maximizing short-term profits," he said.
May 20, 2012 CNN
A prison guard was killed and several employees injured Sunday in a
riot at the Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez, Mississippi,
officials said. The 23-year-old guard appeared to suffer "blunt trauma
to the head," said Adams County Coroner James Lee. The riot, which
began about 2:40 p.m., was still going on Sunday night, the facility's
operator said in a statement. Local and state law enforcement officials as
well as authorities from the Federal Bureau of Prisons were helping the
facility quell the violence. "The disturbance is contained within the
secure perimeter of the facility, with no threat to public safety,"
the statement said. Five employees and one inmate were taken to a hospital
for treatment of unspecified injuries, while additional staff members were
being treated at the prison. Johar Lashin told CNN that he'd heard a lot of
noise and commotion when he talked around 6 p.m. with his brother Jawad, an
inmate at the Natchez facility serving time for aiding and abetting illegal
immigrants. His brother said he was not participating in the riot, despite
pressure from other inmates to do so. The cause of the incident is under
investigation. Rusty Boyd, a spokesman with the Mississippi Highway Patrol,
said Sunday evening that 45 to 55 units from that state agency are helping
corrections officers deal with the situation. The facility is a 2,567-bed
prison that houses adult men who are in the United States illegally and
charged with crimes. It is owned by the Tennessee-based Corrections
Corporation of America. Warden Vance Laughlin described the facility as
quiet and with "few problems" in a March 2010 article in The
Natchez Democrat, a few months after it opened to incarcerate illegal
immigrants detained for mostly low-security crimes. At that point, it
contained more than 2,000 inmates -- more than two-thirds of whom were of
Mexican descent, although scores of nationalities were then represented.
April 21, 2009
Natchez Democrat
Eric Staiger just moved to Natchez and now he and his family need a
place to live. Staiger is a newly hired assistant warden at the Correction
Corporations of America facility and has not been able to find rental
housing since he began searching prior to his move to Natchez. “It’s been a
challenge so far,” Staiger said of locating a rental house for himself, his
wife and their two kids. He started his search on the Internet before he
left his home in Ohio. “I thought it would be easier,” he said. “Now I’m
just relying on word of mouth and working with my Realtor.” And Natchez
Realtor Sue Stedman said while she’s thrilled to see job growth in the
community, she isn’t surprised by Staiger’s struggle. “There aren’t many
rentals out there right now,” Stedman said. “And some people are going to
notice a shortage.” But Stedman said while rentals can be hard to come by,
the sale market in Natchez is doing well. Stedman said the number of houses
for sale in the area has reached pre-Katrina levels. But that won’t help
Staiger. CCA Warden Vance Laughlin said upper level management at the
prison is being hired from within the company. Laughlin said his group of
managers is coming to the area with the intent of being promoted out of
Adams County, and are not in the market to buy a house. “They need
rentals,” Laughlin said.
March 15, 2009 Natchez
Democrat
Last week, as most of the Adams County Supervisors were in town taking care
of county business, one supervisor was in the nation’s capital taking
county business to a whole other level. Supervisor Darryl Grennell was in
Washington D.C. for the National Association of Counties’ Legislative
Conference, and in the midst of lectures and meetings Grennell was able to
meet with some of the nation’s higher-ups to talk county business. On
Monday, Grennell was able to meet with U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran to discuss
several issues pertinent to Adams County. “I think it was a very productive
meeting,” Grennell said. “He was very receptive.” Grennell said while no
formal actions came from the meeting, he was glad to have had the
opportunity to make Cochran aware of what’s going on in Adams County.
Grennell said he and Cochran were able to discuss the repair projects at
Marblestone Alley and West Stiers Lane, acquisition of federal stimulus
money for road repairs in the county and the new Corrections Corporation of
America prison. “Basically he said he’d make some phone calls on the
county’s behalf,” Grennell said. “It went well.” While work on the
Marblestone Alley and West Stiers projects isn’t new, Grennell said he was
grateful to have had a chance to talk about stimulus funding and the CCA
prison. The county hasn’t gotten any firm commitments on stimulus funding
and the prison is currently without prisoners since it has not secured any
contracts that would provide inmates. “Hopefully this can get the ball
rolling,” Grennell said. Supervisor Mike Lazarus said he hopes the county
will be able to see positive results from Grennell’s visit. “It’s always
good to have connections,” Lazarus said. “It’s big. It keeps our name at
the top of the list when projects come up. It’s very helpful for us.”
January 8, 2009 Natchez
Democrat
On Dec. 1 Corrections Corporation of America completed construction at its
new prison on U.S. 84, but the facility is without prisoners. Warden Vance
Laughlin said the facility looks great. The halls are quiet, the beds are
empty and there aren’t any guards on duty. And that won’t change anytime
soon. Laughlin said he’s not expecting any inmates until at least June. The
hold up comes from a missing, but crucial, federal contract. Once in place,
it’s the contract that will fill the jail with the all-important prisoners.
The contract, which was originally expected to be in place by Oct. 1, is
“delayed indefinitely,” Laughlin said. Laughlin said he’s hoping it will be
in place by the first quarter of this year. But once the contract is in
place it will be at least 120 days before the prison sees its first inmate.
That 120-day period will be used for hiring and training guards and other
employees. And there’s no clear answer on exactly what’s stalling the
contract. Laughlin said he thinks the general economic slow-down has had an
impact on the contract. Additionally, the money to be used for the contract
has not been finalized. CCA marketing director Steve Owen said he
attributes some of the delay to administrative changes as high up as the
White House. Owen said those changes have an impact on Congress, which
ultimately controls the budget for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. And
Congress has yet to finalize the bureau’s 2009 budget. “Government
contracts can move slowly,” Owen said. “Sometimes these things can just
drag out.” But the slow pace of progress isn’t reason for concern, Owen
said. Owen said he’s confident the federal contract will come through — but
if it doesn’t there are other options. “Still our focus is on what we
pitched the facility for,” he said of CCA’s intent to pursue a federal
contract. Both Laughlin and Owen said if the federal contract fails, the
prison can, and will, pursue other contracts.
November 3, 2008 Natchez
Democrat
If country music songs are to be believed, prison cells are the
loneliest places to be, but being warden of a prison with no prisoners
isn’t much fun either. Vance Laughlin, warden of the new Adams County
Correctional Facility, told members of the Rotary Club of Natchez that he’s
got plenty of time on his hands in the next couple of months. Just call if
you need a hand with anything, he told the crowd, joking, at least a
little. Laughlin said Wednesday that a delay in granting a federal prison
contract means the new facility is vacant for just a little while longer.
Originally, Corrections Corporation of America, the owner of the private
prison, expected the contract would be announced Oct. 1, Laughlin said, but
now it looks like it will be in the first quarter of 2009. Originally, CCA
had announced they would start accepting job applications in October, but
Laughlin said the delay in the contract has delayed the need for hiring
just a bit longer. “We’re (still) coming,” Laughlin said. “Once we start
hiring, it’s going to be very, very visible … lots of big ads … just give
us some time.” The time is no problem, Laughlin said, in fact he said he’s
looking at it as a positive factor. “From my perspective, as warden, it
gives me another two to three months to get things set up,” he said.
Construction on the $140 million, 2,500-bed facility is expected to be
complete by Dec. 1, he said. But even if CCA receives the much-anticipated
contract to house illegal immigrant prisoners — ones who will likely be
deported after their sentences are served — the first prisoner would not
report to the facility until 120 days after the contract is awarded. But,
Laughlin said, CCA would begin screening applicants the very next day after
the contract is awarded. “We’re very hopeful for this contract, but we
could not get it,” he said. “If so, we have a plan B and we have a plan C.
“The (Federal) Bureau (of Prisons) is a very important customer so they get
first shot,” he said.
April 21, 2008 AP
Gov. Haley Barbour has signed into law a bill that gives a privately
owned jail in Natchez the authority to house federal and state inmates. The
Adams County Correctional Center is currently under construction and is
slated to be completed in December 2008. Barbour said signing "this
legislation is appropriate as the state continues to find alternative
housing solutions for our growing inmate population." Governor. The
correctional facility is located on more than 140 acres in southwest
Mississippi near Natchez. It is owned and operated by Corrections
Corporation of America.
August 1, 2007 Clarion
Ledger
A 1,668-bed private prison being built in Adams County secured the final
$500,000 in matching funds today to extend the Natchez sewer lines to the
site. The Delta Regional Authority will provide that money for the
Corrections Corporation of America prison, which is scheduled to be completed
by the end of 2008. Funding for the sewer project will accelerate
completion of the project, which is expected to create approximately 300
jobs. The funding was announced today in a joint news release from Sens.
Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, Gov. Haley Barbour and 3rd District U.S. Chip
Pickering. "Southwest Mississippi is an important part of our state
and this new facility will help create economic confidence in the area by
generating hundreds of new jobs," Cochran said in the news release.
Lott noted in the news release that the sewer project has an additional
benefit. "Anytime you expand or upgrade water or waste water service,
it is a well-placed, long-term investment in the community that can promote
new residential and commercial growth," he said.
June 12, 2007 Natchez
Democrat
The board of aldermen agreed on a more binding agreement between the
city and county governments regarding water and sewer services to a private
prison Tuesday. Walter Brown, who represents the private prison company CCA
and the city waterworks, asked the aldermen to sign an interlocal
agreement. The agreement would spell out more specific responsibilities of
the parties involved, Brown said. The city and county are applying for
grants to fund the water and sewer infrastructure to the proposed prison
near Cranfield. An interlocal agreement would help secure those grant
monies, Brown said. The project will still require no city or county
taxpayer money, he said. The interlocal agreement would simply say, “We’re
doing our part of the project, and they’re doing theirs,” Brown said.
Because CCA wants to meet the GO Zone deadline to benefit from financial
incentives, time was short, Brown said. “CCA still wants to take the deed
by July 1,” Brown said. “We’re really under the gun to meet their
timeline.” Some of the parties involved, such as Adams County Water
Association and the county have asked for changes to the original draft of
the agreement, he said, so he did not have the final document at Tuesday’s
meeting. That didn’t sit well with Alderman James “Ricky” Gray. “It’s kind
of unusual for me to sit up here and vote for something I haven’t seen and
the city attorney hasn’t read over,” Gray said. “I like to read over
something before I vote and sign it.” Since time was of the essence,
Alderman Jake Middleton suggested the board give the mayor and board
attorney authorization to review the document before they signed it. “I
don’t think they’re going to sign off on something that’s not beneficial,”
Middleton said. Brown said he would be happy to get copies of the draft to
anyone interested. The board voted authority to the mayor to sign the
agreement.
May 3, 2007 Natchez
Democrat
The new prison needs $4 million in water and sewer infrastructure, but if
all goes as planned, the county and city won’t have to shell out a penny of
their own. If plans fall through, the money may come out of taxes the
company would be paying to the county. Adams County Water Association plans
to provide the water, and Natchez Water Works will provide the sewer for
the Corrections Corporation of America private prison near Cranfield.
However, they need the money for things like labor, pipes and a water tank.
So the city and county are looking to get money through grants that private
CCA can’t get. The county board of supervisors approved the project Tuesday
and asked the Southwest Mississippi Development District to hunt for grants
and loans. Such grants could come from several places, including federal
funds and the Delta Regional Authority, attorney Walter Brown said.
Hopefully, the grants won’t require matching funds, said Brown, who
represents CCA locally and Natchez Water Works. “A 10 percent match is
normally required, but we’ve asked for it to be waived,” Brown said. “If
not, we’ll figure out how to handle it. Most logical would be a tax
increment financing bond.” Such a bond would use the company’s future taxes
to pay off the debt. That way, the county isn’t losing any money it
currently has, Brown said. Previously, CCA and county representatives said no
city or county money would be required if the prison located in Adams
County. That worries Supervisor Henry Watts. “Full disclosure is always my
concern — full disclosure on the front end, letting the supervisors know,”
Watts said. “Give us a good idea what kind of money the taxpayers of Adams
County are having to put up, not only on the prison but on any proposal.”
Tuesday’s supervisors meeting was the first time Watts said he had heard
the county might need to play a role in the prison project. “It was the
first time I’d heard we were actually going to have to put up money,” Watts
said. “Am I scared of that? No. But right now, we have no idea how much
money we’d have to put up.”
Antioch
detention center
Nashville, TN
Jun 4, 2017 patch.com
Nashville Jailhouse Scabies Outbreak Spreads To Courthouse: Report
NASHVILLE, TN — At least four courthouse employees have been diagnosed with
scabies connected to an outbreak at a privately-run Nashville jail, The
Tennessean reports. Court officials confirmed four cases of scabies with
another six employees being tested for possible exposure to the human itch
mite that causes the rash. More than 200 female inmates at the detention
center run by CoreCivic — formerly Corrections Corporation of America — are
already undergoing treatment, with 39 confirmed cases. (For more updates on
this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your
local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.) A murder trial has been
postponed because one of the defense attorneys contracted the disease. The
Health Department believes it could take "a couple of weeks" to
get the outbreak under control, according to the newspaper.
Jun 3, 2017 tennessean.com
More than 300 inmates treated as scabies-like rash spreads through
Nashville jail
Hundreds of local inmates are receiving treatment for what appears to
be a scabies outbreak at a Nashville jail, officials said. A spokeswoman
for the privately run jail said staff first noticed a rash three weeks ago.
A Metro health official confirmed learning of the rashes in mid-May, but
did not start administering treatments until Thursday. The outbreak is now
keeping the female inmates of the Davidson County Detention Center away
from court hearings, and one Nashville judge said a murder trial in his
courtroom was delayed after a lawyer was infected, too. Criminal Court
Judge Steve Dozier, who delayed the case, said he was concerned jail staff
did not notify the courts soon enough. "To the extent that there’s any
communicable disease issue within a jail facility, courts ought to be
notified" out of concern for the inmates and court staff, he said. The
parasite was found in inmates at the jail facility on Harding Place in
Antioch, court administrators and health department officials confirmed.
The 1,300-bed facility is operated by the private prison company CoreCivic,
a company previously known as Corrections Corporation of America or CCA. As
of now, roughly 320 inmates are receiving treatment, with 20 to 25
confirmed to have rashes, said Brian Todd, public information officer for
the Metro Public Health Department. Those numbers could change though, he
said. Scabies is a skin infestation by the human itch mite, which often
leads to an itchy rash, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. "Scabies is a parasite that burrows under the skin,"
Todd elaborated. CoreCivic spokeswoman Amanda Gilchrist said the first
inmate sought medical treatment for a rash about three weeks ago. Todd said
"it took time to investigate" the rashes and causes, which led to
a delay in treatment. Gilchrist said inmates with rashes and those without
symptoms will receive treatment if they are within the three housing units
mainly affected. No employees have sought treatment yet, she said. On
Wednesday, representatives of the health department, public defender's
office and CoreCivic met, according to an email from John Ford, chief
deputy in the sheriff's office. He wrote that CoreCivic has some medication
on hand, and the rest would arrive in 24 hours. While experts haven't
confirmed the rash is caused by scabies, Todd said the typical scabies
treatment of a pill or cream is apparently working. On Thursday morning,
courthouse staff were cautioned about the outbreak. No one who works there
is "at-risk unless they came in direct contact with someone that has a
confirmed case of scabies," an email sent to all General Sessions
staffers reads. "However, if you do develop symptoms, contact my
office or your supervisor for the appropriate ... paperwork. "This has
been an evolving issue and Presiding Judge (Gale) Robinson and Judge
(Melissa) Blackburn have been making continuing efforts in consultation
with DCSO, Health Dept, and Core Civic to get this issue resolved as soon
as possible." Trial Court Administrator Tim Townsend said as a
precautionary measure, no female inmates from the facility would be brought
to Nashville's courthouses for court hearings scheduled Thursday or Friday.
Those court dates will be rescheduled, he said. Scabies can spread quickly
in crowded places where there is close skin-to-skin contact, such as
nursing homes and prisons, according to the CDC. An email obtained by The
Tennessean, which was sent more than a week ago from the health department
to court staff and copied to sheriff's officials, indicates there was a
problematic rash at the facility. Cathy Seigenthaler, director of Metro
Public Health Department's Correctional Health Services, recommended in the
May 24 email that the "top five worst rash cases" submit to blood
tests. She wrote that no confirmed scabies cases had been diagnosed and
said the jail was following proper laundry and cleaning procedures.
Gilchrist said the sheriff's office and Metro public health were notified
of the issue "from the start" but didn't elaborate when signs of
the rash spreading were first noticed.
"We’re following all protocols and guidelines to mitigate the
issue. For example, all female inmates within the three impacted housing
units are receiving treatment as a precaution, and the impacted housing units
and inmate clothing and laundry are being disinfected," Gilchrist
said. In addition to barring the inmates from going to court until Monday,
all activities, including visitation at the jail, also have been canceled
until Monday "in order to protect visitors and volunteers," she
said.
Avalon Dallas Transition Center, Texas
Aug 3, 2017 fox4news
Dallas County halfway house racks up $22.9k tab in 911 calls
A for-profit transitional home in Dallas County for people getting out
of prison with no place to live is running quite a tab for the county. The
residents of the Avalon Dallas Transition Center have placed excessive 911
calls for medical help and have resulted in a tab that since last October
has not been paid. The transitional home is operated by Corrections
Corporation of America. It’s getting hundreds of thousands of dollars to
operate from the state but not paying what the county says it owes for
emergency medical service. Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price is
angry that a private company providing a transition for people getting out
of prison has not paid its bill to the county for excessive 911 calls.
“They owe us a quarter of a million dollars, and my position is they're a
for-profit corporation,” he said. “We've met with them at least three or
four times. The problem is they are not moving. And, again, they are for
profit.” Dallas County contracts with the city of Hutchins to provide fire
and EMS services to the unincorporated areas in Southeast Dallas County.
Each time an ambulance responds to a call in the unincorporated areas, it
costs Dallas County $450. Documents obtained by FOX 4 show that from a ten
month period from October 2016 through July 2017, there were 243 emergency
calls made. The total cost for the calls is $222,900. “That is a pretty
high amount there that you know we haven't been paid,” said Dallas County
Fire Marshal Robert De Los Santos. “We've dealt some correspondence with
them, and we just haven’t received any feedback from them.” De Los Santos
says the unpaid price tag should make all Dallas County residents sick.
“Because that’s your taxpayer money, our taxpayer money,” he said. “I live
in Dallas County as well.” FOX 4 reached out to the out-of-state managing
director for comment. They promised to make a response, but FOX 4 has yet
to hear back.
Bartlett State Jail, Bartlett, Texas
April 30, 2011 Killeen Daily Herald
The largest private corporation operating prisons in the U.S. is suing the city
of Bartlett after the city threatened last week to shut off the water
supply to a state jail the company operates. Corrections Corporation of
America Inc. (CCA) was granted a temporary injunction Thursday, preventing
Bartlett from cutting off water and sewer to the 1,049-bed Bartlett State
Jail. CCA alleges the city has severely over-billed the company because of
a faulty water meter. Since December, CCA has disputed the amount the city
has charged for use of its water supply. According to court filings, CCA
believes Bartlett charged the company for 44 percent more water than was
actually used at the jail. The disputed water bills amount to $213,237. CCA
claims it requested hearings with city officials each time it disputed a
bill, but was rebuffed. The company also submitted checks to the city for
water usage CCA is not disputing; however, the city has not cashed those
checks. In the summer of 2010, jail officials became suspicious that the
jail's water and sewer bills were excessive, court documents state. CCA
hired two experts to examine water usage at the Bartlett State Jail. One
expert confirmed the suspicions of CCA officials by examining the jail's
water tank. The expert, Sutton G. Page, found that over a 24-hour period,
the city's water meter showed the jail used 68,595 gallons more than the
amount he measured. A second expert, an engineer named William Johansen,
examined the city's water meter. In an affidavit filed with the court,
Johansen states that the water meter is not working properly. The jail's
low-flow meter was inoperable, so Johansen measured it as 100 percent
inaccurate. The high-flow meter made a measurement error between 14.4
percent and 95 percent, Johansen stated. "It is my opinion that the
meters at the Bartlett, Texas, State Jail do not function properly and
cannot reliably account for the amount of water flowing through the
meters," he stated in court documents. According to Bartlett's city
charter, city officials must accept CCA's account of the water bills. The
charter places a time limit on water disputes. If city officials do not
meet with a water customer or respond to their complaints about a disputed
bill within a certain timeframe, the city is automatically determined at
fault. CCA claims city officials never attempted to meet with jail
officials regarding disputed bills. City officials could not be reached for
comment.
January 7, 2010 AP
A boil water notice has been issued for Bartlett where a shortage has
led to using an emergency well and portable toilets for a state jail. The
1,049-bed Bartlett State Jail ordered portable restrooms and 5,000 bottles
of water after briefly losing city service. Steve Owen with Corrections
Corp. of America says employees Wednesday occasionally shut off water so an
onsite tower could refill. Water levels in the city's two elevated storage
tanks have been declining. Officials suspect a pump malfunction. A backup
well, which failed an assessment less than two years ago, was brought
online this week after passing a bacterial test. Mayor Arthur White did not
immediately return a message Thursday from The Associated Press.
February 25, 2009 FOX
7
A former corrections employee, armed with a gun, had a central Texas
jail on full alert this morning. A swat team was called out to the Bartlett
State Jail around 11:00 Tuesday for a hostage situation. The standoff ended
early Wednesday morning, when a former employee of this jail was taken into
custody. A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice tells
us the woman confronted a current employee in the parking lot late last
night. Another employee came out to see what was going on, and the former
employee pulled out a gun and took the two men hostage, forcing them back
into the jail. That brought out the swat team and DPS, and the jail was locked
down. The hostages were in the jail's visitation area and were able to
escape. At that point, this was a standoff between the woman with the gun
and the law enforcement officers outside. By 1:25 this morning, the TDCJ
spokesperson tells us the woman was taken into custody and taken to the
Williamson county jail in Georgetown. This is a state jail under the
authority of t-d-c-j, but it's run by a private company called corrections
corporation of America. The woman accused of taking two employees hostages
here is a former employee, who stopped working here about a year ago.
Kyndall Dwight James, 22, who escaped from
the Bartlett State Jail in 2000, pleaded guilty Monday to charges of
escape, a second-degree felony, and unlawful use of a motor vehicle, a state
jail felony. James was sentenced to 20 years in prison. David Lee Sanders,
a second Bartlett inmate accused of escaping with James, will stand trial
today. (The Statesman, January 8, 2002)
Two convicted felons escape after breaking into the maintenance shop and
stealing a cutting tool to cut through the 12-foot perimeter fence. They
were caught the next day after a high speed car chase that ended with the
escapees' stolen truck tires being shot out. (Austin American-Statesman,
August 29, 2000)
Bay County
Correctional Facility, Panama City, Florida
December 1, 2010 The Times
Joseph Mixon, the man responsible for igniting the Nov. 2008 fire that
destroyed the Apalachicola State Bank building downtown, has died.
According to a media statement issued Monday by the Corrections Corporation
of America, Mixon, an inmate at the Bay Correctional Facility in Panama
City, was pronounced dead by emergency medical technicians at 2:19 p.m. on
Nov. 24. “At this time the death appears to be of unnatural causes and does
not appear to involve foul play,” read the statement. Bay County Medical
Examiner Dr. Michael Hunter has the task of determining the cause of death.
“Corrections Corporation of America is working in full cooperation with
local and state law enforcement officials as they investigate,” the
statement read.
May 7, 2009 News
Herald
Corrections Corporation of America is cutting 52 positions from the Bay
Correctional Facility, officials said Thursday. "While some of these
positions are currently vacant, there are 29 employees who will be affected
by this staff restructuring," Nashville, Tenn.-based CCA management
said in a news release. The layoffs primarily will affect instructors and
counselors at the facility but also will impact some correctional officers
and support staff, officials said. The cuts are expected to take place May
24. Prison officials added they are assessing which programs will be axed
because of the layoffs. Officials said safety at the medium-security prison
will not be affected by the cuts. "This reduction in force is a
painful but necessary action in response to the state's ongoing fiscal
challenges and the budgetary actions taken to date," Warden Bill
Spivey said in a news release. "We will work closely with our affected
employees who wish to continue their careers with CCA to identify transfer
opportunities at one of the company's other 63 facilities operated
nationwide. "It is our sincere hope that the economic health of the
state will improve such that these employees and the important programs and
services they provide can be restored," Spivey said.
April 2, 2009 News-Herald
A prison corrections officer was arrested Thursday after she allegedly
smuggled contraband in to an inmate she had established a relationship
with. Sonja Ann Powell, of Bonifay, was arrested on charges of smuggling
contraband into a correctional facility, according to Bay County Sheriff's
Office officials. Authorities said Powell, 35, a corrections officer at the
privately run Bay Correctional Facility, reportedly smuggled a cell phone
to Francis Marshall and Frank Gomez, two inmates at Bay Correctional
Facility. Officials said investigators discovered information indicating
Powell and Marshall had become involved. "Messages that we were able
to get from them would indicate they had a very strong friendship with an
emotional attachment," Bay County Spokeswoman Ruth Corley said.
Officials said Marshall and Gomez are members of a gang called the Latin
Mafia and used the cell phone to talk with a former guard at the institution
and a woman with whom Gomez had established a relationship. The phone was
allegedly used to send nude photos of the inmates and to receive nude
photos of others. Officials said Marshall will face an additional charge of
possession of contraband in a state correctional facility. Gomez will face
two counts of the same charge.
November 25, 2008 WMBB
TV13
Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen announces the arrest of a prison guard,
Kennedy Eugene Patterson, B/M, 08/14/1970, of 734 Redwood Avenue, Panama
City; FL. Patterson was employed by Corrections Corporation of America.
Investigators arrested Patterson today for Trafficking in Hydrocodone and
Attempted Introduction of Contraband in a Correctional Facility. Also
arrested was Patterson’s girlfriend, Latisha Lanetta Ward, B/F, 06/04/1979,
607 East 7th Street, Panama City, FL. Investigators received information
from a CCA staff member that Patterson was involved in smuggling contraband
into the prison to inmates. Investigators out of the Special Investigations
Division were working in an undercover capacity. Along with an informant,
they were able to set up a meeting with Patterson where he agreed to
smuggle several ounces of Marijuana into an inmate along with Hydrocodone
for an exchange of $800.00. Patterson and Ward were booked into the Bay
County Jail today and will make first appearance on the charges tomorrow.
November 15, 2008 Courier-Journal
A judge has ordered McDonald's Corp. to pay $2.4 million in attorney fees
and costs to Louise Ogborn, the Bullitt County woman who last year won a
$6.1 million verdict in her strip-search hoax lawsuit against the company.
Citing Ogborn's lawyers' "incredible success," Senior Judge Tom
McDonald approved fees of $934,325 for the lead trial lawyer, Ann Oldfather,
and $311,250 to Kirsten Daniel, her co-counsel, as well as $25,000 in
sanctions against McDonald's for misconduct in the litigation. Daniel said
yesterday that she and Oldfather were ecstatic about the award. "We
got everything we asked for," she said. Margaret Keane, a partner at
Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, which defended the restaurant company,
declined to comment, and a spokesman for McDonald's didn't respond to a
request for comment. The fees were awarded to Ogborn on top of the October
2007 verdict, under a provision of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act designed
to promote vigorous advocacy for plaintiffs. She now can use that money to
satisfy all or some of what she owes to her lawyers under their employment
contracts. Specifics about those contracts have not been made public.
McDonald's had vigorously protested the fee request, saying Ogborn's
lawyers couldn't have possibly worked the hours they claimed. But Judge
McDonald, who oversaw the trial in Bullitt Circuit Court, said that if the
plaintiff's lawyers worked long hours, it was because the company forced
them to, by fiercely contesting every motion and delving so deeply into
Ogborn's private life. "McDonald's should not be heard to complain now
that the plaintiff's counsel worked too hard, when, to a large degree,
those decisions were driven by McDonald's," the judge said. Oldfather
has said that McDonald's disclosed that it spent about $3.6 million on fees
defending itself. The judge also rejected the company's motion to stipulate
that a portion of the fees and costs be paid by the person who made the
hoax calls, noting that the jury did not return a verdict against him.
Ogborn, a teenager who worked for $6.35 an hour at McDonald's Mount
Washington store, was detained, stripped and sexually assaulted on April 9,
2004, at the behest of a caller who pretended he was a police officer and
accused her of stealing a customer's purse. She sued the company, saying it
failed to protect her, though company officials knew of dozens of similar
episodes at its stores and other fast-food restaurants. After a four-week
trial, a Bullitt Circuit Court jury returned a verdict that included $5
million in punitive damages. McDonald's has appealed, and the case is
pending at the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Keane argued for the company that
Ogborn's lawyers achieved only limited success at trial because they had
asked the jury for $100 million in damages. But Judge McDonald said
"the jury placed the blame squarely at McDonald's corporate
feet," and that the $1 million awarded to Ogborn in compensatory
damages was five times higher than a Bullitt County jury had ever returned
in a similar case. The judge also said that if Oldfather hadn't asked for
$100 million, "who can say that without that large an amount the jury
may not have ended up where it did?" The court's order included
$212,000 to two lawyers who formerly worked with Oldfather -- Lea Player
and Doug Morris -- and $173,000 to Bill Boone and Steve Yater, two lawyers
who originally filed the suit but were later fired by Ogborn. McDonald also
ordered the fast-food company to reimburse Ogborn's lawyers for $495,000 in
expenses. The sensational hoax case captured national attention. Stripped
of her clothes and able to cover herself only with a store apron, Ogborn
was forced to spend hours in the restaurant office, as a security camera
recorded her humiliation. Ogborn was detained by an assistant manager,
Donna Jean Summers, who said a man claiming to be a police officer had
called and accused an employee resembling Ogborn of theft. Summers
subsequently called her then-fiancé, Walter Wes Nix Jr., who sexually
abused Ogborn at the caller's direction. McDonald's claimed it bore no
responsibility for what happened to Ogborn and that the blame lay with
others, including the caller, Nix, Summers and Ogborn herself. She was one
of dozens of victims of a hoax caller who over more than a decade duped
managers at as many as 160 fast-food restaurants and other stores into
strip-searching and sexually humiliating employees. Many of those workers sued
their employers, but Ogborn's suit was the first whose case went to trial.
Nix was later convicted of sexual abuse and other crimes and sentenced to
five years in prison. Summers entered an Alford plea to misdemeanor
unlawful imprisonment, meaning she asserted her innocence while
acknowledging there was enough evidence to convict her. She was placed on
probation. Summers joined in Ogborn's suit against McDonald's, saying she
was tarnished with a criminal conviction because the company had failed to
warn her and other employees about the hoax calls. The jury awarded Summers
$1.1 million. The caller was never brought to justice. A Bullitt County
jury in 2006 acquitted David R. Stewart, a former private prison guard from
the Florida panhandle, in the case. He'd been charged with impersonating an
officer and soliciting sexual abuse for calling the Mount Washington store.
Law enforcement officers said at the time that they suspected him of making
the other calls as well.
November 1, 2006 AP
Prosecutors couldn’t convince a central Kentucky jury to convict a Bay
County man accused of making a hoax phone call that lasted 3½ hours and
ended in a bizarre sexual assault of a teenage McDonald’s worker. The jury
on Tuesday acquitted David R. Stewart, 38, of Fountain, on charges of
impersonating a police officer, soliciting sodomy and soliciting sexual
abuse relating to a phone call made to the Mount Washington, Ky.,
restaurant in which former employees testified that the caller told them to
conduct a strip-search of a worker in April 2004. Steve Romines, Stewart’s
lawyer, said the jury’s verdict showed the weakness of the prosecution’s
case. “There are a lot of questions unanswered in this case,” he said. “The
only thing I knew for sure was my client didn’t do it.”
October 31, 2006 Courier-Journal
Bullitt County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Mann implored jurors
Tuesday to “follow the evidence” and convict a Florida man charged with
being the mastermind behind an elaborate hoax that led to a McDonald’s
worker being strip-searched and sexually humiliated. “It’s so obvious,”
Mann told jurors in his closing arguments this morning. “There is more than
enough evidence to find the defendant guilty.” An hour earlier, defense
attorney Steve Romines said his client, David R. Stewart, was the “fall
guy” for a botched police investigation. “They came to a conclusion then
went about looking for facts to support it,” said Romines, who also told
jurors that there was more evidence that this hoax was itself a “scam.”
“There’s not even proof beyond a reasonable doubt that this is real,” he
said. Stewart is accused of calling the restaurant on April 9, 2004, and
directing an assistant manager to search and detain Louise Ogborn, who the
caller said was accused of stealing a purse. During a 3½ ordeal after that,
Ogborn was sexually abused by the manager’s then-fiancé, who later pled
guilty but said he’d been acting on the orders of a caller posing as an
officer. Stewart, charged with impersonating a police officer and
soliciting sodomy, faces up to 15 years in prison on the two felony
charges.
October 22, 2006 News
Herald
The 19-year-old woman stripped naked in front of her boss in the manager’s
room at the Winn-Dixie on 23rd Street more than three years ago because a
voice on the phone said so. The teenager posed. She exposed. She did
jumping jacks nude. For nearly two hours, a man who said he was a police
officer orchestrated her humiliation over the phone. The voice told the
girl’s boss, assistant manager James Marvin Pate, that she stole a purse.
Police believe the man on the phone was David R. Stewart, of Fountain, said
Sgt. Kevin Miller, of the Panama City Police Department. Authorities said
Stewart, 39, made dozens of calls like this across the country for several
years. The phone hoaxes sparked lawsuits against restaurant franchisees and
chains like McDonald’s, Burger King and Applebee’s. Stewart’s first trial
is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Mount Washington, Ky. In the Kentucky
case, Stewart is accused of calling a McDonald’s on April 9, 2004, and
posing as a police officer. Police said he told McDonald’s assistant
manager Donna Summers a story similar to what the voice told the manager at
the Panama City Winn-Dixie: He said a teenage female employee, Louise
Ogborn, had stolen a purse and that she needed to be strip-searched.
Summers and her ex-boyfriend, Walter Nix Jr., strip-searched Ogborn for
about four hours, police said. Nix also had Ogborn perform sexual acts on
him — all at the request of the caller. Mount Washington authorities charged
Stewart with three counts of solicitation to commit sexual abuse, first
degree; solicitation to commit sodomy, first degree; impersonating a police
officer; and solicitation unlawful imprisonment, second degree. Incidents
since the ’90s: Authorities said Stewart has peppered the country with
calls dating back to the mid-1990s, mostly to chain restaurants. Usually,
the man calls, identifies himself as a police officer, and says a female
employee has drugs or has stolen something and must be strip-searched. In
Panama City, the nightmare for a 19-year-old cashier began on July 12,
2003, at Winn-Dixie, when a fellow employee told her to report to the
manager’s office, according to a PCPD incident report. According to the
police report, which blacked out the name of the victim, what happened next
lasted nearly two hours: Assistant manager Pate, 39, was waiting and handed
her the phone. On the line was a man who said he was Officer Tim Peterson
with the Panama City Police Department. The voice said she stole a purse
and gave her two choices: Either strip naked in front of Pate or be brought
down to the jail, where she’d be strip-searched in front of a lot more
people. The voice also said Pate had the authority to keep her there and
strip-search her, while the voice verified everything over the phone. The
cashier agreed. Pate told her what to take off, and she complied out of
fear of being taken to jail. She placed each item of clothing in a plastic
bag. Pate described the cashier’s naked body in intimate detail to the
voice on the phone, according to the police report. The voice commanded the
cashier to pose in various positions that exposed her breasts, anal and
vaginal areas to Pate. Toward the end of the woman’s ordeal, grocery
manager Thomas Moton, 49, entered the office looking for a a key to unload
a truck at the store’s rear dock. When he entered, the cashier was doing
jumping jacks, and Pate had the receiver to his ear. “Pate said the boss is
on the phone,” Moton said. “I thought the store manager was on the phone.”
Moton said he thought something wasn’t right. He wanted to get the other
assistant manager, but Pate said the voice on the phone told him to stay.
The cashier went through several poses, Moton said. “She was bending over,
sitting in a chair and doing jumping jacks,” he said. When the woman
finally was allowed to leave, she put her clothes on and rushed out the
door. Moton mentioned to Pate that “if this ain’t what it’s supposed to be,
then you are out of here.” A short time later, police tore into the parking
lot and hauled off Pate in handcuffs. Police charged Pate with lewd and
lascivious behavior and false imprisonment. The charges eventually were
dropped, Miller said. Moton said he never saw the cashier again after that
night. “I didn’t even want to look her in face,” he said. “It was so
embarrassing.” Police track the caller: The caller contacted several
Wendy’s restaurants on Feb. 20, 2004, in the West Bridgewater, Mass., area,
said Detective Sgt. Victor Flaherty of the West Bridgewater Police Department.
West Bridge water is a suburb of Boston. “We had four incidents in one
night,” Flaherty said. “Some conversations lasted more than an hour and a
half.” Like the others, calls involved strip-searches of female employees,
Flaherty said. By this time, however, the trail was leading back to
Stewart, authorities said. After a story appeared in a restaurant industry
magazine about what happened in West Bridgewater, Flaherty was flooded with
calls from police agencies across the country. Detective Buddy Stump of the
Mount Washington Police Department called Flaherty. Stump was looking for
help tracing the call to the McDonald’s where Ogborn was strip-searched.
Flaherty traced the calls made to West Bridgewater back to the Panama City
area. He called the Panama City Police Department and asked for help,
Miller said. Andrea McKenzie, a former detective with the PCPD and now an
investigator with the state attorney’s office, helped link Stewart to the
calls. McKenzie said she fielded calls from police agencies all over the
country. “It was kind of shocking,” she said. “People said the phone number
was coming from the Panama City area.” When the investigation uncovered
that some of the calls were made using a phone card, authorities got the
break they needed. “Nothing in this world is untraceable, if you put the
time into it,” Flaherty said. McKenzie tracked the date and time of when
the phone cards were bought to the Wal-Mart on 23rd Street. She pulled
security video. On the video was a man wearing a uniform from the local
jail run by Corrections Corporation of America, McKenzie said. Stewart was
identified as the jail guard shown on the video, authorities said, and
police brought him to the PCPD to be interrogated by Flaherty, who flew in
from Massachusetts. When police arrested Stewart, they found numerous
police magazines and applications to police departments, Miller said. “This
guy wanted to be a cop in the worst way,” Flaherty said. Stewart’s
attorney, Steve Romines, said there is no way his client could have been
the voice on the phone. “To talk someone into this — it is someone more
eloquent than David (Stewart),” Romines said. “He’s not dumb, but this was
very sophisticated.” Flaherty disagreed with Romines’ assessment. “I’ve
been doing this for 20 years, and there is no doubt in my mind” that
Stewart did it, Flaherty said. Authorities eventually extradited Stewart in
the fall 2004 from Bay County to Mount Washington to stand trial. Panama
City police didn’t go after Stewart because they couldn’t link him to the
call to the Winn-Dixie, Miller said. Other states, meanwhile, are awaiting
the outcome of the Kentucky trial before pursuing legal action against
Stewart, Flaherty said. “Oregon is still interested in him,” Flaherty said.
“In Massachusetts, I consider it a rape by him.”
August 25, 2006 The
Courier-Journal
Nearly half of Bullitt County residents think that David Stewart is
guilty of masterminding the telephone hoax at the Mount Washington
McDonald’s in which a teenage employee was strip-searched and sexually
humiliated in April 2004, according to survey conducted to support
Stewart’s motion to move his trial. But Bullitt Circuit Judge Thomas Waller
indicated Friday he will deny the motion and try to empanel an impartial
jury on Oct. 24, when the case is set for trial. Stewart is charged with
impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy for allegedly calling
the restaurant and pretending to be a police officer investigating a theft.
As a result of the call, employee Louise Ogborn, then 18, was forced to
take off her clothes and sodomize a man that Stewart allegedly asked to
watch her. Stewart’s lawyer, Steve Romines, asked for a change of venue,
citing numerous newspaper and TV stories that have mentioned Stewart is
suspected of making calls to as many as 70 other restaurants and stores in
30 states. He hasn’t been charged in any of those incidents, and Romines
said evidence concerning them would be inadmissible at Stewart’s trial.
Stewart, a former corrections officer at a private prison near Panama City,
Fla., attended a hearing before Waller yesterday but did not speak in
court. Romines declined to let him answer questions from reporters.
June 17, 2006 AP
Detective Buddy Stump couldn't believe the story being told. A teenage
worker at the local McDonald's had been strip-searched and sexually
assaulted by co-workers. The co-workers said a policeman called the
restaurant, described the girl and directed them about what to do.
"I'm thinking, 'They told you to do what?'" said Stump, one of 16
police officers in Mount Washington and the department's only detective.
The investigation that grew from that night would lead to a plea by a
former employee of McDonald's, and the arrest of a Florida man on charges
of impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy. The trial of David
R. Stewart, 38, of Florida, was previously scheduled to begin this week but
has been postponed to Sept. 5. In handwritten court filings, Stewart denies
being the hoax caller. He is free on $50,000 cash bond. Mailings to the Bullitt
Circuit Court indicate he is still living in Florida. "I had nothing
to do with any of this," Stewart said. "I did not do this."
A judge has ordered the attorneys involved in the case not to discuss it
publicly before the trial. Stump and other investigators in states from
Maine to Wyoming to Arizona say they believe their investigation stopped a
cruel and bizarre series of hoaxes. Private investigator R.A. Dawson of
Rapid City, S.D., who investigated a similar incident, said he had found 70
other cases resembling the one in Kentucky. "The M-O's were all
similar," Dawson said. "And, they seemed to get increasingly
worse." In court filings, McDonald's has denied any wrongdoing, but
has declined to comment on the case, citing a pending civil case.
February 2, 2006 Courier-Journal
The Bullitt County man who claimed he thought he was following a police
officer’s orders when he sexually humiliated a teenaged McDonald’s worker
in April 2004 pleaded guilty this morning to sexual abuse, sexual
misconduct and unlawful imprisonment. A charge of sodomy, which could have
sent Walter W. Nix Jr., to prison for 20 years, was dropped as part of a
plea bargain to which he agreed to a five-year prison term. Nix, who will
be formally sentenced on March 15, agreed not to seek probation at
sentencing, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Mann agreed to take no
position on shock probation, which could be granted later. Nix is the first
person to be convicted in the 2004 hoax at the Mount Washington McDonald’s
in which Louise Ogborn, a $6.35 hour counter worker, was strip-searched and
sexually humiliated for nearly four hours after a man pretending to be a
police officer called the store and said he was investigating the theft of
a purse from a customer. Nix, 43, was scheduled to be tried today before
Bullitt Circuit Judge Tom Waller. The judge asked Ogborn if she supported
the plea bargain and if so why. She said she did because it will require
Nix to serve time in prison, to register as a sex offender and to testify
against David N. Stewart, the alleged perpetrator of the hoax. Stewart, a
former private prison guard from Fountain, Fla., is scheduled to be tried
April 18 on charges of impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy
for allegedly making the hoax call. Law enforcement officials have said
they suspect Stewart was behind at least 69 other hoaxes at businesses in
32 states from 1995 through 2004. He has been charged only in Bullitt
County, and has pleaded not guilty.
November 17, 2005 In-Forum
News
The suspected mastermind behind strip searches of employees at chain
restaurants and stores nationwide - including one at a north Fargo Burger
King - faces felony charges in Kentucky for a hoax there. Authorities
arrested David Richard Stewart of Panama City, Fla., after tracking a call
from a Wal-Mart to Kentucky, where an18-year-old McDonald's employee was
sexually abused last year when an assistant manager followed directions
from a caller. Court papers state Stewart, 38, posed as "Officer
Scott" when calling the McDonald's in Mount Washington. He convinced
the assistant manager to strip-search the woman, who Scott said was
suspected of stealing. The call resembles one made to the Fargo Burger King
on 19th Avenue North in January 1999. The caller, posing as "Lieutenant
Scott," convinced then-night manager Jason Allan Krein to strip-search
a 17-year-old female employee in his office. Krein later pleaded guilty to
disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and served 30 days in jail. In Kentucky,
the assistant manager and her boyfriend also face charges for the
McDonald's strip search. The assistant manager faces an unlawful
imprisonment charge while her boyfriend faces sexual abuse and sodomy
crimes. Authorities charged Stewart with impersonating a police officer and
soliciting each of the other crimes. The suspects all pleaded not guilty
and face trials next month. "It was a horrible, horrible ordeal that
this young lady had to go through," said Walt Sholar, the Bullitt
County, Ky., attorney handling one of the cases. Nationwide, Sholar said
there are about 70 cases similar to the ones in Kentucky and Fargo. Dozens
of police departments have contacted Mount Washington authorities convinced
they arrested their suspect. "I have no doubt in my mind that he's
been the one behind all of them," Mount Washington Police Detective
Buddy Stump said. "For the sake of the rest of the country, I hope and
pray that it is." Stump broke the case open after the city told him to
find the caller. "We realized how many people have been affected
across the United States," he said. "I thought it was my
duty." With help from detectives in Massachusetts and Florida, Stump
zeroed in on a surveillance video at one of Panama City's three Wal-Marts.
Once they had the guy's image, they tracked Stewart to a private prison
company where he worked. Stewart remains free on bond until his trial.
Calls to a phone listing for David Stewart in Panama City went unanswered.
In January 1999, a man called six Fargo businesses- two Burger Kings, three
Taco Bells and Payless Shoe Store - in an attempt to convince managers to
strip-search female employees. At the north Fargo Burger King, Krein went
along with the caller's demands, undressing the employee and touching her
legs to describe them to the caller. At Krein's court hearing, East Central
District Judge Georgia Dawson said "it's just not conceivable"
for Krein to think the search was proper. Fargo attorney Adam Hamm, a
prosecutor then, told Dawson the girl was traumatized for months. "Of
all the cases I prosecuted, this was one of the cases that burned itself
into my memory," Hamm said. "I have always wondered if I made the
right decision in charging Jason Krein with the charge." Hamm said he
prepared a more serious charge against Krein but balked at filing it
because of how state law defines sexual contact. "I knew I could prove
the misdemeanor and at some level he had to be held responsible," Hamm
said. After the Fargo strip search, the girl and her parents sued Burger
King, owned by RED Inc. in Grand Forks, N.D. The case was settled in
mediation, according to those familiar with the case. Details of the
settlement are not public. Krein moved to Wisconsin and could not be
reached for comment. Fargo Lt. Tod Dahle recalls the Burger King search
because police tracked one call to a Florida pay phone and the caller posed
as a Fargo officer. After the incident, Fargo police received reports of
similar incidents in Grand Forks, Devils Lake, N.D., Watertown, S.D., and
Virginia and Wisconsin. "Ever since that happened, I probably got a
call about that case every three months," he said. "Of course,
I'd learn it happened somewhere else." With Stewart's arrest, Dahle
said Fargo police will ask prosecutors to review the case to determine if
charges can be filed against Stewart. "I think to some degree, the
people (managers) wanted to participate," Dahle said. "I don't
think we'll ever know how many times this guy (Stewart) was told no."
November 3, 2005 Courier-Journal
The Bullitt County man who claimed a hoax caller duped him into
sexually humiliating a teenage McDonald's employee at the restaurant last
year apologized to his victim yesterday and said he was ashamed of what he
did. "I had no intention of hurting anyone," Walter W. Nix Jr.,
43, said in Bullitt Circuit Court to Louise Ogborn, whom he forced to
sodomize him in April 2004. Nix has said he was following the orders of the
caller, who he thought was a police officer. But Judge Tom Waller refused
to accept a deal in which Nix had offered to plead guilty to a reduced
charge of sexual misconduct and unlawful imprisonment in exchange for a
sentence of one year's probation. Waller let Nix withdraw his plea and set
his trial on charges of sodomy and assault for Dec. 13. That's the same day
that David N. Stewart, a former private prison guard from Fountain, Fla.,
is scheduled to stand trial on charges of impersonating a police officer
and soliciting sodomy for allegedly perpetrating the hoax during a call to
the Mount Washington restaurant. Law enforcement officials have said they
suspect Stewart was behind at least 69 other hoaxes pulled off at other
businesses in 32 states from 1995 through last year. He has been charged
only in Bullitt County and pleaded not guilty there.
November 2, 2005 Courier-Journal
Bullitt Circuit Judge Tom Waller this morning rejected a plea agreement for
a man who admitted sexually humiliating a teenager who was strip-searched
last year at the Mount Washington McDonald's where she worked. Walter Nix
Jr., 43, pleaded guilty last month to unlawful imprisonment and sexual
misconduct as part of a plea bargain that would have given him one year
probation. The deal fell through after Louise Ogborn, 19, who was forced to
sodomize Nix as part of telephone hoax at the store on April 9, 2004,
objected to portions that allowed Nix to deny wrongdoing and to avoid
registering as a sex offender. Judge Waller set Nix's case for Dec. 13.
Ogborn was detained for nearly four hours in the hoax, which was one of 70
perpetrated in 32 states from 1995 through last year. A private prison guard,
David N. Stewart, of Fountain, Fla., was charged in July 2004 with
impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy in the Mount
Washington case. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial Dec. 13.
November 2, 2005 Courier-Journal
A teenager who was strip-searched in April 2004 at the Mount Washington
McDonald's where she worked is objecting to terms of the plea bargain
struck for the man who admitted sexually humiliating her. As part of the
agreement, Walter Nix Jr., 43, pleaded guilty last month to unlawful
imprisonment and sexual misconduct, and was to be sentenced today in
Bullitt Circuit Court to one year's probation under those charges. But
Louise Ogborn, 19, who was forced to sodomize Nix as part of telephone hoax
at the store on April 9, 2004, objects to portions of the deal that allowed
him to deny wrongdoing and to avoid registering as a sex offender,
according to lawyers for both sides. "The deal will not go
through," said William C. Boone Jr., Ogborn's co-counsel. Nix's
lawyer, Kathleen Schmidt, said she will ask Judge Tom Waller to enforce the
plea agreement today. If he doesn't, Nix will have the option of
withdrawing his plea and going to trial, or accepting an agreement with
harsher terms. Nix had been charged with sodomy and assault, which carry
penalties of up to 20 years in prison. Nix has claimed he was duped into
humiliating Ogborn by a man who called the McDonald's pretending to be a
police officer investigating a theft. Nix was engaged at the time to the
store's assistant manager, Donna Jean Summers, who, at the behest of the
caller, had taken away Ogborn's clothes before calling Nix in to help watch
the teen. Nix has said the man on the phone ordered him to direct Ogborn to
do exercises in the nude and perform oral sex on him. He said he also
slapped her several times on the buttocks at the direction of the caller.
Ogborn was detained for nearly four hours in the hoax, which was one of 70
perpetrated in 32 states from 1995 through last year. A private prison
guard, David N. Stewart, of Fountain, Fla., was charged in July 2004 with
impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy in the Mount
Washington case. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial Dec. 13.
ABC Primetime is scheduled to broadcast a segment Nov. 10 about the Mount
Washington case, according to Yater, who said Ogborn was interviewed for it
last week by a producer and reporter John Quinones.
October 11, 2005 Courier-Journal
A Bullitt County man who claimed he was duped into sexually humiliating a
teenage McDonald's worker last year by a man impersonating a police officer
pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony charge of unlawful imprisonment. In a
plea bargain approved by his victim, Walter Nix Jr., 43, will get probation
after agreeing to a one-year term for the felony and for sexual misconduct,
a misdemeanor. He originally was charged with sodomy and assault, for which
he could have been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Bullitt Circuit Judge
Tom Waller tentatively accepted the plea pending formal approval of it by
victim Louise Ogborn at Nix's sentencing, set for Nov. 2. Nix was engaged
at the time to the store's assistant manager, Donna Jean Summers, who asked
him to come watch Ogborn. A man who phoned the store pretending to be a
police officer accused Ogborn of theft and ordered her strip-searched.
According to police and court records, Nix said he thought he was following
an officer's orders when he directed Ogborn, who was detained four hours in
the restaurant's office, to do exercises in the nude and perform oral sex
on him. He also slapped her several times on her buttocks, at the direction
of the caller, the records show. The incident was the focus of a
Courier-Journal story Sunday that noted that the strip-search was among at
least 70 performed at fast-food restaurants and other businesses from 1995
through 2004 at the direction of a caller who claimed he was investigating
crimes. Ogborn agreed to be identified by name in the newspaper. A private
prison guard, David N. Stewart, of Fountain, Fla., was charged in July 2004
with impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy in the Mount
Washington case. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is set for Dec.
13. Summers is charged with unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor, and her
trial is scheduled for Dec. 7. She also has pleaded not guilty. Ogborn's
co-counsel, William C. Boone Jr., said his client approved the deal because
"she wants somebody to say they are sorry and for somebody to say she
did nothing wrong," both of which he said Nix has promised to say at
sentencing. "She is tired of McDonald's blaming her for what
happened," Boone said. In a lawsuit, Ogborn has alleged that the
company failed to warn employees at the Mount Washington store about prior
strip-search hoaxes at other restaurants around the country. McDonald's has
said in court papers and through its lawyer that Ogborn was in part
responsible because she failed to realize the caller wasn't a real officer.
Nix and Summers were among at least 13 people across the United States
charged with crimes for executing searches for the caller. Seven have been
convicted of various crimes. Stewart so far has only been charged in the
Bullitt County incident.
November 11, 2004 Arizona Republic
A teenage girl who was strip-searched by the manager of a Taco Bell earlier
this year has filed suit against the restaurant chain. The lawsuit alleges
Taco Bell officials were aware of a string of prank calls to fast-food
restaurants across the country where a caller persuaded employees to do
strip searches, but did not adequately update franchises. In the March
incident at 17230 E. Shea Blvd., a male caller claiming to be a Scottsdale
police officer persuaded the Taco Bell manager to body search the girl, a
patron, in a back room. According to the suit, Taco Bell knew of incidents
at restaurants in Wyoming in 2004, Alaska in 2003 and Georgia in 2002 and
issued warnings to franchises, though not enough was done to educate
employees.
July 29, 2004 Nation's Restaurant News
One of the most bizarre and longest-running con games in foodservice may
have ended with the arrest of a prison guard who was charged with duping
scores of restaurant managers over the phone into strip-searching their
employees. The Panama City Police Department was holding David
Stewart, a 38-year-old corrections officer, under a governor's warrant, a
kind of fugitive warrant, until his bid to fight extradition to Mount
Washington, Ky., was exhausted. Stewart, a father of five and a
former auxilary policeman, worked for the Bay County State Facility, a
privately run prison operated by the Corrections Corp. of America. better
know as the CCA. Police in Mount Washington--a bedroom community of
13,000 residents seven miles from Louisville--were seeking to interrogate Stewart
in connection with an April 9 incident in which a man posing as a cop
called a local McDonald's and convinced a manager to strip-search a young
female cashier. Stewart faces a $ 500,000 bond once he is in the custody of
Mount Washington authorities. Investigators used phone records,
calling-card numbers and security surveillance cameras in a Wal-Mart
outside Panama City where the calling cards had been purchased in order to
link Stewart to the assault. Mount Washington is only one of nearly
73 police departments in 30 or more states whose Burger Kings, McDonald's,
Taco Bells, KFCs, Applebee's, Hooters, Wendy's, Perkins and dozens of other
restaurants were victimized by similar ruses. In almost all cases the
restaurants were located in small towns. As the story first was
reported in Nation's Restaurant News in March, police nationwide had been
looking for a man who posed as a cop or a senior executive of a restaurant
company. He had persuaded as many as 73 unit managers of major brands to strip-search
young staffers in bogus hunts for stolen valuables. The perpetrator
listened in over the phone while the managers were coaxed into giving
detailed descriptions of the hapless victims' underwear and body parts. The
crime had gone largely unreported for years, possibly as far back as 1995,
because the victims and their employers were too embarrassed to report it
to authorities, once they realized they had been duped. Even when they did
report it, most small-town police departments didn't know how to investigate
the con, so police tended to file the reports away under
"miscellaneous" and the cases died. Particularly anxious to
interrogate Stewart are detectives of the police departments of four
Massachusetts towns--West Bridgewater, Abington, Whitman and Wareham--where
single Wendy's restaurants were victimized on the same day this year, Feb
19. One civil lawsuit has come out of those cases against Dublin,
Ohio-based Wendy's International Inc. The four towns pooled their
resources and appointed detective sergeant Victor Flaherty of West
Bridgewater to lead a task force to find the perpetrator. Wendy's financed
the task force's expenses for travel, phone record recalls and
overtime. Flaherty waded through hours of security video footage of
calling-card purchases from the Wal-Mart store until he and other
investigators linked a customer to cards used in the Wendy's incidents in
February and an incident at a Kentucky McDonald's in April. In one
tape a man wearing a Corrections Corp. of America uniform purchased a
calling card used in the February assault in Massachusetts, but other
security footage identified the same man in civilian clothing purchasing a
card used in the April con in Kentucky. Flaherty first showed prison
administrators the tape of the man in civilian clothes, and they
immediately recognized him. The clincher occurred when they were shown the
other tape of the suspect wearing his uniform. Supervisors were certain
that the man was one of theirs.
A 26-year-old corrections officer stabbed
two sisters — including one who is pregnant — with a butcher knife early
Saturday during an argument over a man, authorities reported. Investigators
charged Cachetta Ann Barnes with two counts of aggravated assault after the
altercation at 4 a.m. at 1013 Spring Ave. An arrest affidavit said Barnes
stabbed 19-year-old Tikila Walker on the left arm. Tiffany Walker, Tikila’s
24-year-old sister, heard a commotion near the door and went to Tikila’s
aid, the affidavit said. "She started calling my house around 3 in the
morning threatening us," Tiffany Walker told The News Herald Saturday
afternoon. Authorities said Barnes is a corrections officer at the Bay
Correctional Facility on Bayline Drive, a private prison run by Corrections
Corporation of America. CCA officials did not immediately return phone
messages. (News Herald, January 11, 2004)
Bay
County Jail and Annex, Panama City, Florida
October 28, 2011 News-Herald
The jail has long been finished and the initial contractor fired, but Bay
County only recently received final judgment on a lawsuit that alleged
favoritism and arbitrary behavior in awarding the jail contract in 2006.
Circuit court Judge Hentz McClellan issued a final judgment Oct. 18 in
favor of Bay County and against Emerald Correctional Management, a Louisiana
corporation that lost a bid for jail construction and operations. Emerald
Correctional filed the suit after the county entered negotiations with
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) on a $117 million contract for the
construction of the Star Avenue jail, which ultimately was awarded to CCA
for the design, construction and six years of operation of the jail, sally
port and court holding. The final judgment awards Bay County $167,761 in
lawyer fees. William C. Henry, of Burke Blue, Hutchison, Walters and Smith,
who represented Bay County in the suit, said county staff spent two months
analyzing and comparing the proposals and matching them with their proposal
request. “This RFP (request for proposal) was very complicated because it
was very big,” Henry said. “There were upgrades [in CCA’s proposal] that
weren’t asked for in the RFP, but later county staff said, ‘Yeah, that’s a
really good idea.’ ” To give commissioners an “apples-to-apples”
comparison, the proposals were manipulated in a “fair and rational manner,”
Henry said, and CCA was a better deal. Commissioner Mike Thomas said the
allegations of favoritism were preposterous from the beginning because the
commission did not want to give the contract to CCA, who was managing the
old jail at the time. “There had been a lot of complaints about the way
inmates and their families were being treated,” he said. “Once we got
everything done, they (CCA) were the better deal.” In the end, CCA couldn’t
do the project for the price it said and left the project, and operations
were turned over to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office in 2008. “The main
thing is we have a good product out there now,” he said. The judge awarding
lawyers’ fees “takes some of the sting out” of the litigation, Thomas said,
but the time could have been better spent. The judge’s ruling was issued as
a final order, but Henry said Emerald Management still has the right to
appeal the decision, which attorney Obed Dorceus said he would be
discussing with his client. “All these zombies, even though they are deader
than dead, they still find a way to come out of the grave and eat people,”
he said.
July 14, 2010 News-Herald
A federal jury determined Wednesday that there was no racial discrimination
against a black corrections officer who was not allowed to interview when
the Bay County Sheriff’s Office took over the jail in October 2008. Patrick
Lane, a guard with Corrections Corporation of America, sued the sheriff’s
office because he was not interviewed for a job when the agency took over.
Lane had been working at the jail while CCA was in charge. He currently
works for CCA at another facility. Sheriff Frank McKeithen testified that
he did not know Lane’s race when he prevented him from interviewing, just
his criminal background. “I am very humbled and appreciative with the
verdict, but I’m not sure anybody won today. The outcome of the verdict
cannot erase all the nasty accusations made against me and the Bay County
Sheriff’s Office,” McKeithen wrote in a statement to The News Herald. “It
cannot take away the humiliation suffered by the witnesses both for and
against me. But this is how our system works and why we have courts and
juries.” Lane’s attorney, Marie Mattox, has been trying to prove that there
was a double standard during the hiring, in which black officers with
criminal records had a more difficult time getting a job than white
officers.
July 13, 2010 News-Herald
Bay County Jail Warden Rick Anglin testified at a racial discrimination
trial Tuesday that he and Sheriff Frank McKeithen hired both black and
white officers with criminal records as they rushed to staff the jail in
October 2008. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office had only a few months to take
over the jail after Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) decided to
pull out, Anglin said, adding that he, McKeithen and other supervisors used
the time to wade through hundreds of applications and install county-owned
equipment into the facility. “It was quite a monumental task,” Anglin said.
“It was seven days a week and a lot of sleepless nights.” Patrick Lane, a
guard with CCA, is suing the sheriff’s office because he was not
interviewed for a job when the agency took over the jail. Lane had been
working at the jail and for CCA until the takeover. His attorney, Marie
Mattox, has been trying to prove there was a double standard during the
hiring, in which black officers with criminal records had a tougher time
getting a job than white officers. However, Anglin testified Tuesday that
he hired both black and white officers who had criminal charges such as
passing worthless checks and battery. In most of those cases, the charges
were decades old and had been dropped. On the day the sheriff’s office took
over, there were 34 black officers and 92 white officers, Anglin said. The
jail also has two black shift supervisors out of a total of four. When the
command staff at the jail is not present, the shift supervisors are in
charge of the entire facility, Anglin said. McKeithen testified Monday that
he prevented Lane from interviewing because of his criminal history, not
because of his race. In 2001, Lane was charged with conspiracy to commit
attempted murder for his alleged involvement in a non-fatal shooting in
Franklin County. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The
News Herald through a public records request, Lane was arrested by the
Apalachicola Police Department the night of the shooting because he was
driving two of the alleged shooters mere minutes after the incident took
place. He eventually was charged in the case, but the charge ultimately was
dropped. Although he was not hired at the jail, Lane currently works for
CCA at another of the company’s facilities. On Tuesday, Mattox called
several other black employees who were not hired by the Sheriff’s office
and several white employees who were either hired or offered jobs at the
jail. All of the employees involved had criminal histories. Two women were
fired by CCA and charged criminally because they allegedly falsified their
time records. However, CCA eventually dropped the matter and the women got
their jobs back. McKeithen and Anglin still declined to hire them. Anglin
testified the evidence in the case seemed clear that the women had somehow
clocked in for 12- and 16-hour days without coming to work. The women also
are suing the sheriff’s office for racial discrimination. Mattox also
called Jeffery Langford, a former CCA employee who now works for Florida’s
Department of Corrections. Langford, who is black, had been offered a job
with the sheriff’s office. However, shortly before the takeover, Langford
and two other black officers were involved in a physical altercation with
inmates. On the day the sheriff’s office took over, Langford was escorted
off the premises and told he would be called, he said. No one ever called
him and he found a job with the Department of Corrections, he said. “I was
looking forward to working for the sheriff’s office, but it just didn’t
work out,” Langford said. Robert Wayne Evans, the attorney representing the
sheriff’s office, pointed out the problem was not just that Langford and
the other guards used force on inmates; they also failed to report the
incident. Langford said his CCA supervisor told him not to worry about the
altercation. That was not good enough, Anglin testified, adding that officers
in similar situations who do not notify supervisors and fill out the proper
paperwork are fired automatically. “You have to report that immediately,”
Anglin said. “As bad as I hated it, I didn’t have any choice.”
July 12, 2010 The
News-Herald
Sheriff Frank McKeithen testified Monday in a racial discrimination
trial filed on behalf of a black corrections officer. The officer, Patrick
Lane, has accused McKeithen of failing to hire him even though he was
qualified for the job. In court documents, McKeithen argued that his
reasons for not hiring Lane were simple: In 2001, Lane was charged with
conspiracy to commit attempted murder for his alleged involvement in a
non-fatal shooting in Franklin County. Lane countered in subsequent
documents that the charge ultimately was dropped and that some white
officers have been hired even though they pleaded guilty to other criminal
charges, including battery, receiving stolen property and passing worthless
checks. One applicant who was hired had been accused of lewd and lascivious
battery on a child and pleaded guilty to battery, the documents stated.
McKeithen also hired a former guard at the Bay County Boot Camp to work at
CCA, which ran the Bay County Jail until the sheriff’s office took control
in fall 2008. The guard, Charles Enfinger, had been charged with aggravated
manslaughter of a child in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson.
That case went to a jury, which found Enfinger, six other guards and a
nurse not guilty. During his testimony Monday, McKeithen said that in
October 2008, as the sheriff’s office was preparing to take over the jail,
he personally waded through about 300 applications. Most of those
applications came from current CCA employees. McKeithen said that when he
hired for the sheriff’s office he rejected anyone with a criminal history
and was shocked to find out CCA employed many people with “felony
backgrounds.” “I had never seen that before,” McKeithen said.
May 14, 2010 AP
An appeal court says three nurses held hostage by inmates cannot sue a
privately run jail because they are covered by workers compensation. The
ruling Friday by the 1st District Court of Appeal upheld a judge's
dismissal of a lawsuit against Corrections Corporation of America, Bay
County and the Bay County Sheriff's Office. One nurse and two inmates were
shot by police to end a 12-hour standoff in 2004 at the Bay County Jail in
Panama City. All three survived. Workers compensation pays for job-related
injuries and prohibits suits against employers. The appeal court ruled that
exceptions for negligence by co-workers or an employer with knowledge of a
hazard based on a prior accident or explicit warning did not apply.
March 11, 2010 WJHG
Hernando County commissioners are considering dropping Corrections
Corporation of America (CCA) and turning their jail over to the county
sheriff. They've been consulting Bay County officials about a similar
transition that took place here in the fall of 2008. According to published
reports, CCA criticized Bay County for terminating their contract, telling
Hernando County officials they could have saved Bay County $3 million this
year if they had still been running the facility. But, Bay County
commissioners are now reminding everyone that it was CCA that terminated
the contract, claiming they couldn't abide by the financial terms of that
agreement. They also say sheriff Frank McKeithen has done a better job of
running the jail, and has done it cheaper than CCA. Bay County commissioner
Mike Thomas said, "In 2009, the sheriff's budget, entire budget, with
insurance, building payments, power, everything, was $1.3 million cheaper
than it was in 2008 under CCA's operation." Thomas says the county
commission hasn't received nearly as many jail complaints since McKeithen
took over from CCA.
March 3, 2010 Hernando
Today
About two years ago, Bay County commissioners realized they had reached
a crossroads with the operator of their jail. They had been receiving
negative publicity in the press over contraband being smuggled into the
jail and there were problems with personnel, said County Commissioner Jerry
Girvin. On top of that, the operator, Corrections Corporation of America
(CCA) asked for more money, he said. So the county commissioners of this
Panhandle community rejected CCA's contract renewal bid and asked their
sheriff whether he would be interested in taking over operations. Bay
County Sheriff Frank McKeithen said he'd look into it. He did and about six
months later, in October 2008, he offered to take over the reins of the
jail. "(McKeithen) said, 'You want me to run it, I'll run it,'"
Girvin remembers. "He's done an excellent job ever since." That
scenario, with a few variations, is about to be played out in Hernando
County. Sheriff Richard Nugent announced Tuesday his office can provide a
better and more efficient service while reducing the county's cost of
operating the jail. The sheriff will make a presentation to county
commissioners at their meeting next Tuesday. As with Bay County,
commissioners here had broached the topic twice last year, especially when
the board went through somewhat contentious contract renegotiations with
CCA. "We wanted to see if there were any other options out there that
could save us money," Hernando County Commissioner John Druzbick said.
"There are other counties that are doing it. Now how they are doing it
and whether it is saving them money is what we are wanting to know."
Girvin has some advice for his Hernando County counterparts: "Go for
it." "Nobody likes to run a jail," Girvin said. "But if
you have to run one, it's better to have a local elected sheriff do
it." Stabins: Sounds good on paper -- Hernando County Commissioner
Jeff Stabins, after asking for a day to think about the sheriff's proposal,
said he is open to Nugent's idea, especially because the jail falls
somewhat under his purview. "His agency would be more involved in the
supervision and the ramifications of how many inmates are there and the
costs," Stabins said. "So on paper, it makes sense."
Stabins' concern is that the sheriff is asking for the full amount of what
the county has budgeted for jail operations this year: $11.2 million. But
Nugent said Friday he will need that much because of anticipated upfront
costs of taking over CCA's operations. "There are so many unknowns and
so many variables at play," Nugent said. When McKeithen took over jail
operations there, county commissioners gave his department about $1 million
more than what they had contracted with CCA — knowing that the first year
the sheriff might have to deal with hiring new people and purchasing
equipment. The same scenario applies in Hernando County, Nugent said.
Because CCA is a private entity, it is not open with operations, he said.
That company owns everything from the toilet paper to the video-monitoring
equipment, he said. "(McKeithen) didn't know what he was walking into,
nor do we," Nugent said. Ultimately, McKeithen ended up returning
close to $2 million to the Bay County general fund after the first year of
operations, and Nugent said it is his "gut feeling" he will be
able to return money as well. Hernando County's current jail contract does
not guarantee a fixed cost for the operation of the jail, as an increase in
inmates would increase the cost to the county. With his department
operating the jail, an increase in the number of inmates will not increase
the cost to the county, Nugent said. 'Best move we ever made' -- The Bay
County jail has about 900 inmates, compared to 520 in Hernando. Located in
the Florida Panhandle, Bay County has a population of about 163,500 people,
compared to about 172,000 in Hernando County. Bay County Commissioner Mike
Nelson echoed his colleague Girvin's comments that CCA was not running as
tight a ship as the board wanted. "They just didn't seem to be
interested in listening to us," Nelson said. So after roughly 25
years, the board decided they wanted out of the contract. "We talked
to the sheriff; he made a proposal," Nelson said. "It was the
best move we ever made. It's been like night and day. I haven't had a phone
call on the jail in the two years since he took over." McKeithen kept
about 150 of CCA's employees and placed them on the sheriff's payroll,
while others found jobs in other company sites. "The first year he was
budgeting high because he didn't know what he would run into with his
expenses," Nelson said. And even though the board started him off with
a $17 million budget, about $1 million more than it would have given CCA,
Nelson believes it was well worth it — especially considering he returned
$2 million.
September 17, 2009
News-Herald
After more than three years, a correctional company’s lawsuit against Bay
County finally may go to trial. The First District Court of Appeal upheld a
circuit judge’s opinion this week, denying Shreveport, La.-based Emerald
Corrections’ motion for summary judgment against Bay County, and clearing
the path for trial. “We’d like some finality on this case,” county attorney
W.C. Henry said Thursday. The lawsuit, originally filed in February 2006,
alleges that the county commission, and thus the county, broke state law in
how it awarded the construction and operations contract for the expansion
of the county jail. Then-Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hess dismissed all the
complaints in May 2006, but the appeals court ruled Hess improperly
dismissed two of the complaints. Emerald attorney Obed Dorceus refiled suit
against the county in circuit court. He made a motion for summary judgment,
which Circuit Judge Hentz McClellan denied in June and the appeals court
upheld Tuesday. Emerald’s complaints stem from it submitting the lowest
bidder when the request for proposal went out for the county jail expansion
and operations project in late 2005. Tennessee-based CCA, which operated
the jail at the time, was the only other bidder. But after asking for
clarification on parts of their proposals, the commission gave the job to
CCA despite a slightly larger price tag ($36.4 million to $35.4 million),
because they felt the overall package offered by CCA was superior. Henry
drew an analogy comparing the choice to the decision to buy a sports
utility vehicle, with Emerald’s offer being a “bottom-line SUV” and CCA’s
being a “Cadillac that cost a little more.” Dorceus was looking for an
injunction in his appeal, something McClellan ruled cannot happen, since
the jail is built, and CCA no longer operates it; the Bay County Sheriff’s
Office does. “That’s patently absurd,” Henry said of the appeal. “An
injunction is to prevent damage. ... What is the court going to do, say to
the county to tear down the jail and start over again?” Dorceus said
Thursday he was not surprised by the decision and plans to appeal again if
the bench trial, yet to be scheduled, doesn’t go his way. “My client spent
a lot of money pursuing this contract. We would be OK if the county
followed the law,” Dorceus said. The county has turned down two settlement
requests by Emerald, one for $13.2 million offered in June 2007, and a more
reserved $514,000 offer in September 2007. At this point the lawsuit boils
down to legal fees, with the loser paying the fees of the winner. Henry has
billed out more than $80,000 for the case. He is confident the county will
not have to pay. “Were going to win. There’s no question about that, and
we’ve felt that way from the beginning,” he said.
June 2, 2009 News-Herald
Three nurses who were held hostage at the Bay County jail in 2004 are
asking Florida's First District Court of Appeals to overturn a local judge
and find against Bay County and Corrections Corporation of America. The
plaintiffs, Amie Hunt, Glenda Baker and Kathleen Baucum, are claiming that
Nashville-based CCA should be held liable for the actions of Officer James
Clayton Hall. Hall was breaking CCA rules by allowing more than one inmate
out of his cell at a time, according to a final judgment written by Circuit
Judge Hentz McClellan. McClellan ruled that Hall was concealing this
activity from other employees and his supervisors. "There is no
evidence here that CCA knew of the dangerous situation created by Hall
based on prior similar incidents or on explicit warnings of Hall's
actions," McClellan wrote in March. He added that the nurses are only
eligible for monetary claims from CCA and the County under Florida's
Workman's Comp statutes. The case is now being reviewed by Florida's First
District Court of Appeals. Hall, Hunt, Baker and Baucum were held hostage
for 11 hours by four inmates. During negotiations all of the hostages
except for Hunt were released in exchange for pizza and a cell phone. The
Sheriff's Office's tactical team stormed into the third floor of the old
Bay County Jail and freed Hunt. However, Hunt was shot three times by
deputies in the Sept. 6, 2004 incident. She filed suit for loss of
earnings, pain and suffering and medical expenses incurred. The bullets
entered her hip, back and left leg, damaging bones and vital organs. She
survived but had to undergo physical rehabilitation. The other nurses were
not physically injured in the incident. Three of the four men involved in
the takeover, Kevin Nix, James Norton and Matthew Coffin were convicted of false
imprisonment. Nix, Norton and Coffin were acquitted of more serious charges
in the incident, but still sentenced to 15 years in prison for their roles.
The fourth, alleged ringleader Kevin Winslett, plead guilty to grand theft
auto, resisting an officer with violence, assault on a corrections officer,
three counts of false imprisonment and six counts of battery on corrections
officers. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2007. H. Lawrence
Perry, the attorney for Baucum, Baker and Hunt, did not return calls
seeking comment Tuesday. CCA and County officials declined to comment
because the matter is facing an appeal.
January 29, 2009 News
Herald
A prison employee believed to be romantically involved with an inmate was
arrested Thursday on charges of introducing contraband into a correctional
facility, officials said. Tina L. Ortiz, 35, of Chipley is accused of
bringing a cellular phone into Bay Correctional Facility with the intention
of giving it to an inmate, according to a Bay County Sheriff's Office
release. Ortiz was working at Bay Correctional Facility, a prison operated
by Corrections Corporation of America, as a mental health specialist
assistant, Bay County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ruth Corley said.
"She was not one of our employees," Corley said. Ortiz became a
suspect when prison authorities found a cellular phone when an inmate was
moved. An investigation to discover the phone's ownership suggested she and
an inmate may have been romantically involved, Corely said.
"Investigators discovered messages between the two that revealed their
relationship was romantic in nature," Corley said. Bay County
Sheriff's Officials were brought into the investigation Wednesday, Corley
said, and it was determined Ortiz had brought the phone into the facility.
Ortiz was arrested and later admitted to the crime, Corley said. "She
has given us a full confession," Corley said.
January 23, 2009 News-Herald
Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet found enough evidence in Anthony
Davis' case to allow it to go forward, despite Davis exposing some
weaknesses in the evidence. Davis, 40, is charged with two counts each of
bribing public servants and introducing contraband into a penal facility.
He's accused of paying two corrections workers at the Bay County Jail to
smuggle cigarettes, marijuana, prescription pills, nude photos and a cell
phone to him. All four charges against Davis are third-degree felonies
carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison each. Davis appeared
before Overstreet on Thursday for a preliminary adversarial hearing in
which the evidence against him was laid out for the judge to decide if it
established probable cause in the case. Prosecutor Pat Faucheux brought
three sheriff's investigators to the stand and Davis called the two former
corrections workers, Angela Childs and Shannon Copeland. Copeland refused
to testify, however, evoking her right against self incrimination because
she has pending charges. Childs, who has resolved her case, told Overstreet
that she brought Davis a total of five packs of cigarettes during their
arrangement and received money in return. Childs said the money came to her
through Western Union in a check that was not made out to her and was not
sent directly by Davis. Investigators said they only have testimonial
evidence that Davis organized payments to Copeland and Childs through
another party. When Childs was arrested, she was carrying a cell phone and
prescription Xanax in a bottle. She testified that both items were hers.
Investigators said Copeland began a sexual relationship with Davis the day
Childs was arrested. The affair was discovered when jail officials tapped
into an intercom system and overheard an "explicit" conversation
between Copeland and Davis. When she was arrested, investigators said, she
was carrying nude photos of herself, a sexual device and an MP-3 player.
More nude photos of Copeland were allegedly found in Davis' cell. Davis,
who acted as his own lawyer in this hearing, argued that Childs, at the
time of the alleged transactions, was an employee of Corrections
Corporation of America Inc., which was operating the jail at that time.
Davis said Childs was a corporate employee, not a public servant as
described in the charge. He also argued that the items seized from Copeland
and Childs were their items and there was no direct connection between him
and the money. Davis said when he was arrested he was not in possession of
cigarettes, drugs or a phone. Overstreet, however, ruled that there was
probable cause to go forward and scheduled Davis for another court date
March 17.
December 15, 2008 News-Herald
A detention officer accused of sneaking drugs and nude photographs of
herself into Bay County Jail was arrested Sunday, Bay Sheriff's Office
officials said. Shannon Nicole Copeland, of 1613 Fairy Ave., was met at the
jail by Sheriff Frank McKeithen and jail administrator Rick Anglin as she
began her shift Sunday. A search of her person revealed a CD of nude
photographs of herself and several printed nude images, according to a Bay
County Sheriff's Office release. A search of an inmate's cell uncovered
additional nude photos of Copeland, 23, who told investigators she engaged
in sexual misconduct with the inmate and had brought him marijuana, the
release said. Copeland, a control room operator who had been entrusted with
the movements of inmates, was a former employee of Corrections Corporation
of America, or CCA, and had been retained by the jail as an uncertified
detention specialist after the transition.
November 5, 2008 News
Herald
A Bay County Jail correctional officer was arrested Wednesday morning and
accused of smuggling contraband into the detention facility, authorities
said. Angela Lavonne Chiles, 41, of 9304 Kelly Circle, Youngstown, was
beginning her shift at 6 a.m. when she was found to be in possession of
about 17 alprazolam pills, which are available only by prescription,
according to a Bay County Sheriff's Office release. Investigators learned
Chiles had been introducing other contraband into the jail, including
tobacco products that were being sold among inmates for $30 to $50 per
pack, the release said. Chiles, who was terminated immediately, was taken
to the Bay County Jail and booked on charges of introduction of contraband
into a detention facility and unlawful compensation for official behavior,
the release said. Jail Warden Rick Anglin said Wednesday's arrest was a
positive signal the Sheriff's Office intends to improve security and run
the jail with professionalism. "It (the arrest) is a sign that the
Sheriff's Office isn't gonna tolerate this kind of stuff," Anglin
said. "You can't allow this kind of thing to occur; it jeopardizes the
safety of inmates and the detention officers." Anglin said
Correctional Corporation of America hired Chiles in April 2008, and she was
rehired when the Bay Sheriff's Office assumed responsibility of the jail
Oct. 9.
October 9, 2008 WJHB
TV7
The Bay County Sheriff's Office now has a new duty on its list. After
almost 25 years of a privately run jail, the sheriff's office is back in
charge. The official takeover of jail operations from Corrections
Corporation of America is happening right now at 6:00. It's been a been
almost five months from the time CCA decided they wouldn't run the jail
till the sheriff's office has taken over today, and Sheriff McKeithen says his
men and women have been working day and night to be prepared.
September 18, 2008
News-Herald
Even if it means her job, Kathy Baucum won't be a hostage again.
Baucum, 50, a local nurse, said she was fired Wednesday by Corrections
Corporations of America from the Bay County Jail because she refused to put
herself in a dangerous situation. Baucum knows dangerous situations all too
well; in September 2004 she was held as a hostage during a 12-hour siege in
the CCA-run jail in downtown Panama City. Last week, the jail's warden, Joe
Ponte, issued a memo ordering all nurses to enter the jail's pods with the
inmates and hand out medicine, Baucum said. Under the new rule, Baucum and
other nurses would bring a cart full of controlled substances into the
pods, a room filled with anywhere from 60 to more than 120 inmates, and the
nurse and cart would be escorted by one guard, she said. A single guard
standing between a nurse, a cart full of drugs, and dozens of inmates would
almost certainly lead to another hostage situation or worse, Baucum said.
"No one knows it until they lived it," Baucum said. During the
2004 incident, the inmates went for drugs first, she said. They snorted
over-the-counter medication when they could not get to controlled
substances, she added. For about a week, Baucum and several other nurses
did not comply with the order, she said. On Wednesday night, the nurses
were told they had to follow the memo and enter the pods. Baucum said she
refused and was fired. Other nurses there do not agree with the rule either
but cannot afford to lose their jobs, Baucum said. When she complained to a
supervisor, Baucum said she was told the 2004 hostage crisis was a
"one-time thing." "If it can happen once, it can happen
again," Baucum said. Ponte said Baucum has not been fired. Instead,
she was sent home for one night and he has tried to contact her Thursday.
"I'd like Kathy to come in and talk to see if we can alleviate her
concerns so she can come back to work," Ponte said. "She's a good
nurse." However, the current plan for delivering medication is
"not that unusual," Ponte said. He pointed out the guard and the
nurses were watched at all times by another guard outside the pod. Ponte
said it was a change for some of the nurses, but it was done this way
successfully in several other jails. Ponte said Baucum did not try to talk
to him or make an appointment with him before Wednesday's incident.
"If they (employees) have an issue or problem, I'm always available to
talk to them," he said. Baucum was sent home for the night because she
was refusing to do her job and the inmates needed to get their medication,
Ponte said. "I have a responsibility for the care and the custody of
these inmates," he added. "After that, we could talk at any
length about any concerns." Baucum said there is no doubt she was
fired Wednesday night. Her badge was taken away from her, she was told to
return all CCA property and she was escorted from the building, she said.
She said she was told her termination paperwork would be filled out in the
morning and she should not return to the jail. There are two other options
that could be used instead of entering the pod, Baucum said. One is to
administer the pills through a feed flap at the bottom of a door.
"According to the warden, it is not humane to do it through a feed
flap," Baucum said. The other would be to use a nurse's station
attached to the pods and keeps the nurses separated from the inmates by a
window. After the annex was built, the nurses were told the station was
"just for show," Baucum said. Those options won't work, Ponte
said. The nurse's station ties up a hallway too long, forcing jail
operations to stop while the pills are distributed, Ponte said. And inmates
cannot talk with the nurse through the feeding slot without shouting and
being overheard by other inmates, he added. Legally, inmates must be able
to talk to a caregiver without others hearing the conversation, Ponte said.
Baucum now is looking for another job, but she said getting fired was worth
it if it means the warden reverses his decision and the other nurses are
safe. "I'm doing this for the other nurses that are there,"
Baucum said. "I don't want anybody else's safety jeopardized."
September 16, 2008
News-Herald
In preparation for taking control of the Bay County Jail once Corrections
Corp. of America leaves the facility next month, the Bay County Commission
received an update on the process from the Bay County Sheriff's Office
Tuesday. "Are we encountering any glitches that were unforeseen?"
asked Commission Chairman Jerry Girvin. Maj. J.B. Holloway of the sheriff's
department reported there were "some minor things," but that the
changing of the guard should go off without a hitch. "We made an
informal step into this kind of anticipating problems," Holloway told
the board, adding that questions regarding equipment inventory and other
minor issues had arisen. Holloway said the sheriff's office had already
spent $252,735 toward the transition effort. He requested an additional
$172,000 to purchase existing equipment from CCA. The sheriff's office is
still in the process of determining exactly what equipment will be bought
from the company. "They're trying to sell us some stuff that we think
is obsolete," Holloway said. He also reported that his office was "up
to speed" on hiring employees for the jail. He said about 300
applicants had been interviewed thus far, and 25 positions remained
unfilled.
September 3, 2008 News-Herald
Accused killer Ahmad Smith's jury selection started an hour late
Tuesday because Bay County Jail officials transported him late and lost his
court clothes. Circuit Judge Don T. Sirmons reacted by putting jail Warden
Joe Ponte and his officers on notice that if it happens again, he will find
them in contempt of court. A finding of contempt of court by a judge can
result in a short jail term or fine. Smith, 29, is charged with
first-degree felony murder, robbery with a firearm and burglary of a
dwelling with a firearm. He is accused of participating with Jay Broxton
and Eric Harden in a robbery of James Edwards Jr.'s Shadow Bay Drive home
on Oct. 3, 2006. Edwards was shot to death when he fought back. Broxton and
Harden were convicted, based largely on Smith's testimony in court against
both men, and sentenced to life in prison. Smith had worked out a plea to a
prison sentence of less than life in exchange for his trial testimony, but
in March, when the state would go no lower than 20 years, Smith refused to
plead guilty and insisted on going to trial. Smith's attorney indicated
Tuesday that Smith might not take the stand. Apparel problem -- Prosecutor
Shalla Phelps and defense attorney Jean Marie Downing spent most of Tuesday
finding 12 deliberating jurors and two alternates to hear the evidence. The
trial is expected to go all week. The day started with Downing scrambling
to find suitable clothing for her client. The courts have ruled jail
uniforms might be prejudicial and defendants have a right to dress in
street clothes for trial. Downing told Sirmons that her assistant had
dropped off clothing to the jail Friday, but jail officials could not
immediately locate the clothes Tuesday morning. Eventually, the Public
Defender's Office loaned Smith a button-up shirt and slacks until his suit
arrived from the jail. The jail is going through two transitions, having
recently moved all inmates from the downtown jail to what was the annex in
Bayou George. Operation of the jail also is moving, from Corrections
Corporation of America to the Bay County Sheriff's Office in October.
Deputy Public Defender Walter Smith said he had to fight for clothing from
the jail on a prior occasion for another defendant, asking at that time
that jail officials be held in contempt of court. For these kinds of
emergencies, the office has a small supply of slacks, shirts and ties to
loan to defendants. "It happens 50 percent of the time, and I'm not
exaggerating," Walter Smith said of the clothes issue. "I always
bring clothes to the jail on the Friday afternoon before trial. That way
they only have two days to lose them." He said other jails in the
state are far more accommodating when it comes to inmate court clothing.
"Every time the issue comes up, CCA acts like it's never been raised
before," Smith said. Ponte did not return a phone message Tuesday
seeking comment.
August 25, 2008 WMBB
News 13
The new Bay County Jail is now housing around 900 prisoners, but a problem
finding permanent staff is causing the Sheriff’s Office to expand the
search. The Bay County Sheriff’s department has been searching for staff
for the new jail. The current staff members are employed by the Corrections
Corporation of America. So far, the sheriff’s office has only recommended
around 190 for hire out of around 270 applicants. On October 9th, the Bay
County Sheriff’s Office will take over the facility and many of the current
CCA staff will become BCSO employees.
July 15, 2008 WJHG
The board voted to enact the Bay County Jail transition agreement
between the Bay County Sheriff's Office, the County Commission, and
Corrections Corporation of America. The agreement is the next step in the
sheriff's takeover of the county jail. Back on June 17 the board voted
unanimously for Sheriff Frank McKeithen and the sheriff's office to run the
jail when CCA leaves in October, but before they take over they want to
make sure they have a smooth transition. The sheriff’s office will work
with CCA to go over operation procedures. They will also begin the process
of interviewing and training staff to be correctional officers. Jerry
Girvin of the County Commission said, "We'll start with the very
senior folks and then work down to the deputy warden, the captains, and
lieutenants and whatnot. They will shadow the current operations so that
when we take over officially in October, or when the sheriff does it won't
be walking in blind, they would have spent time with the current staff and
they'll know where the keys are, where the doors are, and how things
work." The agreement goes into effect immediately. The sheriff is set
to officially take over on October 1.
June 19, 2008 News-Herald
A Corrections Corporation of America officer was arrested Thursday and
charged with three counts of sexual battery, police said. Robert C. Heller,
27, of Parker, was a CCA employee assigned to the Bay County Jail,
Detective Aaron Wilson with the Parker Police Department said. No further
information was available Thursday night.
June 17, 2008 News-Herald
It is going to cost more, but Bay County commissioners expect to get
their money's worth out of Sheriff Frank McKeithen when he takes over
operations of the county's jail facility in October. Commissioners passed
an ordinance Tuesday placing McKeithen at the helm when current operator
Corrections Corporation of America leaves in the fall. He officially will
take over Oct. 9. There was little discussion on the matter at the
commission meeting. Most of the talking took place weeks ago. In May, when
Tennessee-based CCA cited financial hardship and announced it would be
leaving, Commission Chairman Jerry Girvin described more of an opportunity
than crisis. The county had been critical of the company for several
incidents through the years, including hostage standoffs, smuggled
contraband and sex scandals. "While we're not totally delighted with
the concept, it's now in our lap and we'll deal with it," Girvin said
at the time. "Really, in most of the counties in Florida, the sheriff
does run the jail." McKeithen told the board June 3 that the Bay
County Sheriff's Office could operate the facility for $17,855,216 a year.
That is about $7 more per inmate, per day than CCA's price, which McKeithen
said is because county employees require more pay and benefits. Also, Bay
County spokeswoman Valerie Lovett said peripheral details, such as who
would provide food and health services at the facility, still are being
worked out. Such costs would be above and beyond the sheriff's estimate.
Commissioners stressed Tuesday that CCA should be held accountable to their
agreement to construct the current expansion project at the U.S. 231 jail
annex. "We need to hold the money until we're sure they have fulfilled
all their responsibilities," said Commissioner George Gainer. County
Attorney Terrell Arline said such things are being handled. The county, he
said, also will be requesting CCA further explain its exit. "One of
our intentions is to have them explain, in writing, how they were not able
to fulfill their obligations," Arline said.
June 8, 2008 News-Herald
Originally, Sheriff Frank McKeithen was reluctant to run Bay County's
jail system. But in an interview last week, McKeithen was armed with ideas
and plans for changes at the local jail. McKeithen stressed, however, that
he does not have the job yet. The Bay County Commission will meet June 17
and is expected to vote on McKeithen's proposal to run the jail, taking
over the job from the private Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA.
During their last meeting, commissioners supported the idea. "It's not
going to be easy," McKeithen said. "Every day will be a work in
progress. We can't get complacent." If commissioners approve him for
the job, McKeithen would send every jail employee an information packet
that will let them know where they stand, he said. Nearly 300 people work
at two local jail facilities, one downtown and the other at the jail annex
near Bayou George, which is being expanded and eventually will replace the
downtown facility. "We're not going to leave them hanging,"
McKeithen said. "Everybody there will have an opportunity to retain
their jobs." As long as current employees are properly qualified, they
most likely would keep their jobs, McKeithen added. However, every employee
also would have to fill out an application and go through the application
process, he said. "I have confidence in the people that are there, and
they are going to be there," McKeithen said. He said it was too early
too say how employees at the jail would be structured and managed, but he
did talk about the need to streamline the two organizations. Jail employees
would be part of the "family" that makes up the Sheriff's Office,
McKeithen said. In his budget, McKeithen has approved a raise for the
starting salary of jail employees from about $26,000 a year to $30,000 a
year. New ideas -- The sheriff has several new ideas about how things
should be run. To start, he said, jail officials would implement an inmate
management system that would give corrections officials a "better
handle on these prisoners." McKeithen mentioned that in the past, some
inmates were kept in jail past their release dates. In November, nine
inmates were released from the jail before their release dates and had to
return. McKeithen said the new inmate management system would work closely
with courthouse officials to ensure these kinds of incidents don't happen.
McKeithen also said he wants a Web site that would let the public know
inmate status, visiting hours and other important information. The sheriff
also expressed concern for the treatment of inmates' relatives. "We
want to better train our staff in customer service," McKeithen said.
Parents, siblings and others who visit an inmate must be treated with
courtesy and respect, he added. "It's already a stressful visit,"
McKeithen said. "A county jail is accountable to the citizens of that
county." Work-release programs and other possibilities also were on McKeithen's
mind last week. These things, done right, could "save the taxpayer
money," he said. The money -- Last month, Nashville-based CCA, which
has run Bay County's jail operations for more than 20 years, told county
officials they were leaving town. Although they had signed a contract, CCA
officials said could not run the jail for the planned cost of $43.34 per
inmate, per day and were leaving the county Oct. 1. According to
information provided by Bay County officials, Charlotte County pays $76.29
per inmate per day. Indian River County pays $75 per inmate per day, while
Santa Rosa pays $49 per inmate per day. McKeithen's proposal breaks down to
$50.79 per inmate, per day, for a total of $17.9 million. McKeithen asked
Rick Anglin, Bay County's liaison to CCA and contract monitor, to
investigate the needs and come up with his budget proposal. Much of
Anglin's job involved overseeing CCA and ensuring the company followed its
contract. The sheriff said it was important to have someone outside the
Sheriff's Office do the initial budget. Anglin investigated CCA's budget
and the budgets of several jails across the state before writing the new
budget, he said. Anglin and McKeithen estimate they would pay $13.5 million
for salaries and benefits; $1.3 for medical supplies, pharmacy needs and
hospital services; $115,000 for mental health services; $956,230 for food
services; and $53,160 for uniforms, security equipment and ammo. McKeithen
pointed out the food contract breaks down to 93 cents per meal.
"There's no fat built into that budget," Anglin said. New jail --
If McKeithen takes over Oct. 1, he would inherit the jail facilities at the
U.S. 231 annex site, which eventually will serve as the area's only jail.
Good riddance, he said. "That is a monster," he said of the
downtown jail, adding that many of the safety and security problems jail
officials have dealt with over the years were caused by the dilapidated
building. But when CCA leaves, it also might take with it computers, desks
and other equipment the company purchased. The county would have to replace
that, McKeithen said. The furnishings and equipment in the new buildings
will stay, McKeithen said. "It does appear to be a state-of-the-art
facility," he added. That facility is part of a residential
neighborhood, something McKeithen is taking into account. Inmates will only
be released from the U.S. 231 site if they have a ride or a cab. If they do
not, they will be taken to the courthouse and released from an office
there, McKeithen said. This will keep former inmates from walking through a
residential neighborhood and place them closer to Bay County's bus station,
rescue mission and other services they might need, he added. Though he
might have been reluctant at first, McKeithen seemed to be looking forward
to the new situation. "I'm to the point were I'm ready for the
challenge," he said. "I want this to be the best jail in the
state of Florida."
June 6, 2008
News-Herald
If it's true that you get what you pay for, then Bay County should receive
moderately better operation of its jail with Sheriff Frank McKeithen in
charge. County commissioners indicated Tuesday that they plan to hire the
Sheriff's Office to run the jail and replace Corrections Corporation of
America, a Tennessee-based company that has contracted to do the job for the
last 23 years. CCA informed the county last month that it was seeking a
divorce, citing irreconcilable financial differences: Officials said they
couldn't provide adequate service for what the county was paying them.
Enter McKeithen, who previously had expressed a willingness to assume
responsibility for the jail but told commissioners up front that it would
cost them more. Tuesday, he laid out the numbers: Whereas CCA had been
charging the county $46.18 per inmate per day (which was scheduled to drop
to $43.34 when the new jail annex opens this fall), the Sheriff's Office
said it would charge $50.79 - or about $18 million a year, $3 million more
than CCA. Saving money was costing the county numerous headaches. Under
CCA's direction, the jail had experienced several embarrassing - and
sometimes dangerous - incidents in recent years, often resulting from staff
failures. How much of that was due to low salaries and how much to CCA's
training and oversight? We should find out the answer soon enough. Either way,
the jail needed a fresh start. The question is, should the county have
spent more time looking elsewhere before settling on the sheriff? Why not
re-bid the contract and see if it could get a better deal for taxpayers?
The answer is that it probably would have been a waste of time. First of
all, there aren't that many companies that run jails. Indeed, the last time
the county bid the work, only one other company competed with CCA. Out of
Florida's 67 counties, only three - Bay, Citrus and Hernando - contract out
their jail operations, and Bay has by far the cheapest per diem rate. Eight
county jails are run by county commissions, and the remaining 56 are
operated by the sheriffs. According to Bay County staff research, most of
the counties with inmate populations comparable to Bay's pay a higher per
diem than McKeithen's estimate. One advantage to turning the jail over to
the sheriff is that if issues arise, the county can deal directly with a
local official it knows well, instead of some corporate bureaucracy.
Furthermore, that official is elected, which means he has to answer to the
public for the jail's performance. Commissioners still must keep a close
eye on the bottom line, and that means watching out for unintended expenses
that might crop up that would significantly boost McKeithen's per diem
estimate. For instance, according to the terms of the CCA contract, any
equipment purchased after 2006 belongs to CCA. If the company takes that
stuff with it when it leaves, how much will it cost to replace it?
McKeithen says it might take a year to determine exactly what it will cost
to run the jail. He deserves an opportunity to demonstrate it will be money
well spent.
June 3, 2008 News-Herald
Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen informed county officials Tuesday he
could take over jail operations for just less than $18 million a year.
"I haven't sugar-coated these numbers; these are real," McKeithen
told county commissioners during their regular meeting. "With all due
respect, this will be my only proposal. I'm not going to compete with
anyone." The cost estimate, breaking down to $50.79 per inmate, per
day, is higher than the current $46.18 charged by Corrections Corporation
of America. The company is walking away from the jail in October, shy of a
contract-stipulated drop to $43.34 upon the completion of the jail
expansion project at the annex property off U.S. 231. McKeithen said the
higher quote primarily was because county employees require a more
competitive salary and benefits. "It's a little higher rate," conceded
Bay County Commission Chairman Jerry Girvin, "but let's face it; a lot
of the problems have been because of the salary." The board was
unanimously receptive to the sheriff's projections. Legal counsel, however,
advised that a formal ordinance declaring such would need to be written up
for the June 17 county meeting and approved. "I think what we're
saying, sheriff ... you'll have a new hat to wear," Girvin said.
McKeithen stressed his numbers were only estimates. The per diem rate also assumes
a minimum of 963 jail beds is filled. "It would take a year to realize
exactly what it's going to cost out there," he said. Officials have
budgeted $16.8 million in jail costs for the 2008 fiscal year, which ends
Sept. 30, according to Bay County spokeswoman Valerie Lovett. Of that
amount, $16.2 million would be paid to CCA to cover the per diem expenses;
the other $600,000 would cover costs, such as building maintenance, that
are not in CCA's contract, Lovett said. Had CCA continued its contract
another year at the lower per diem rate, the county would have paid $15.2
million to CCA for Fiscal Year 2009, and the overall cost would have been
$15.8 million. Commissioner Bill Dozier said the sheriff's numbers seemed
right, as opposed to CCA's $43. When alerting the county to their planned
departure, company officials cited inadequate finances. "This is
realistic," Dozier said. "That was unrealistic." If the
ordinance is approved at the commission's next meeting, McKeithen will not
take over the facility until CCA's October exit.
June 3, 2008 WMBB
Running the Bay County jail is not the most glamorous of jobs, but
Sheriff Frank McKeithen has offered to take on the task to the delight of
the Bay County Commission. At Tuesday's regular Commission meeting
McKeithen made clear that he could not garuntee there would be no problems
under his watch. "I'm not going to tell you there will never be a
hostage situation or jail break or issues in jail but I will tell you that
there will be far less than what CCA has had to deal with in that facility
downtown," said McKeithen. Last month Bay County expressed
disappointment that Corrections Corporation of America would not run the
new jail at a rate of $43 a day per prisoner, but Tuesday they said
McKeithen's offer of $50 per prisoner a day was reasonable. "We have
looked at jails all over the state of Florida and the typical per day jail
rate is $54 to $64 throughout the state," said Chairman Jerry Girvin. The
Sheriff estimates that the total budget for the year will be around $17.8
million- that's an increase of one million after CCA leaves- and McKeithen
says that money is largely due to raises for personnel. "There is a
possibility that if this amount of money is given that we may have money
left over. There's a possibility that we may have to ask you for more
money," McKeithen said. Commissioners say choosing the Sheriff over
another private contractor is the most preferable of options. "This is
not a knee jerk reaction. This is something that everyone of us has taken
time with, everyone of us, the sheriff, and our staff," said
Commissioner Mike Thomas. County Attorneys will draft an ordinance in the
coming weeks to be considered in a public hearing at it's next meeting on
June 17th.
May 27, 2008 News-Herald
Bay County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously rejected an offer by
Emerald Correctional Management to drop its lawsuit against the county in
exchange for the keys to its jails. The offer was passed on to the board by
County Attorney Terrel Arline. "Can we laugh first?" asked
Commissioner Mike Thomas. Emerald Correctional Management filed suit
against the county in 2006, claiming the bidding process for the
construction of the new jail off U.S. 231 was flawed. Arline said he
recommended the offer be rejected, but was obligated to inform the
commission about what was being put on the table. "Would ‘Hell no' be
appropriate?" Commissioner George Gainer said. "I was gonna use
those terms," Arline replied, "but I bit my tongue."
Although Emerald Correctional was the original low bidder on the project,
after some bid clarifications, the job was awarded to the only other
responding party, Corrections Corporation of America. The Tennessee-based
CCA currently is constructing the new county jail but recently notified the
county it would be pulling out of its contract Oct. 1 because of financial
concerns. Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen is researching how much it
would cost his office to take over the facility. He has told commissioners
it would be more than what CCA is charging: $46.18 per inmate, per day.
Upon completion of the new jail expansion, the rate was expected to drop to
about $43. Commissioners approved an agreement Tuesday with Tyndall Air
Force Base to house Air Force pre-trial detainees at the current Bay County
Jail. Thomas stipulated that any per-inmate costs agreement would need to
jibe with future decisions regarding management of the jail once CCA
departs.
May 21, 2008 News-Herald
A Bay County Jail captain has been placed on administrative leave after a
weekend traffic crash. Capt. Stacy C. Blakeney, 36, was driving an
estimated 80 mph in a 35 mph zone on Beach Drive when he rolled his vehicle
late Sun-day, according to a Panama City Police Department crash report.
Police said Blakeney was driving west near Buena Vista Boule-vard about
11:30 p.m., and his vehicle drifted off the road. His 2003 Chevrolet struck
a power pole and began to spin. The vehicle crossed the front yard of a
home, crashed through a row of shrubs, hit two trees and flipped, landing
on its top in the next yard. Blakeney was not seriously injured, police
reported. Police estimated damage to the vehicle at $15,000, to the power
pole at $3,000 and to landscaping at $2,000. Criminal charges are pending
the results of a blood-alcohol test, police reported. Joe Ponte, warden of
the Bay County Jail, said Blakeney declined to speak to supervisors about
the circumstances of the crash. With criminal charges pending, he cannot be
com-pelled to make a statement, Ponte said. Blakeney works at the downtown
jail, according to Ponte.
May 14, 2008 News-Herald
It takes millions of dollars a year to run the Bay County jail but now
that Corrections Corporation of America is leaving town, the County Commission
worries it could cost a tremendous amount more. Bay County went to a lot of
effort to try to save money on the construction on a $40 million facility
including a lawsuit from a company bidding on the project. In the end the
County went with Corrections Corporation of America. "The fact that
they designed it around their ability to run it, that was supposed to be a
savings for everybody," said Commissioner George Gainer on Wednesday.
At Tuesday's County Commission meeting, Commissioners announced that CCA
planned to leave the new jail in October. CCA and the County signed a 6
year contract in 2006. The terms of the contract say the company would be
responsible for building the new jail to be completed by August. After the
jail was complete, the County's rate per prisoner per day was supposed to
drop from $46 dollars to $43 a day in 2009. "My problem is they're not
sticking around long enough for Bay County to realize if the design is one
that is going to save us money. If it's what we paid for," said
Gainer. While the County has a number of options for running the new
facility, Gainer says he thinks each one would be more expensive than CCA.
He hopes the commission will address his concerns at a workshop on Friday.
"This whole process was entered into because of the savings on the per
diem. I think we're paying $43 a day now and if we've got to pay $56 at
this facility- I think that $13 a day is the basis of a tremendous lawsuit
back against CCA," said Gainer. CCA's official reason for leaving the
county was that wages and benefits for staff could not be covered with the
rate worked out with Bay County. County Commissioners will weigh three
options at a special workshop Friday including running the jail themselves
as a County Department, asking Sheriff Frank McKeithen to step in, or
hiring another private contractor to run the jail.
May 13, 2008 News-Herald
Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, let the county know late
Monday that it would be abandoning its local operations in 150 days, or
Oct. 1. “Where our path will take us, we don’t know,” Bay County Commission
Chairman Jerry Girvin said of the question left in CCA’s wake. “It’s been a
long-term relationship, but it’s probably one that’s run its course, and
it’s time to go separate directions.” During the commission’s meeting
Tuesday, the board briefly discussed the last-minute news before scheduling
a workshop for 2 p.m. Friday at Panama City City Hall to further explore
the county’s options. Girvin said the two most probable options would be to
either run the jail as a county department or turn operations over to the
Bay County Sheriff’s Office. “Really, in most of the counties in Florida,
the sheriff does run the jail,” Girvin said Tuesday afternoon. CCA, which
has operated the area’s jails for more than 20 years, cited financial
concerns as the reason for pulling out of Bay County. Spokeswoman Louise
Grant said the Tennessee-based company could not continue to pay the
competitive wages needed to “retain the brightest and the best staff.” Locally,
CCA employs almost 290 people. Warden Joe Ponte said the average jail
employee makes about $28,000. CCA entered into a new contract with Bay
County in 2006 that stipulated a per-inmate rate of $46.18 per day. Last
year, the company was paid $15.8 million. The six-year contract also called
for the company to expand on the facilities at the U.S. 231 annex site,
which will serve as the area’s only jail once the downtown location is
closed. County officials said the work should be complete before CCA’s October
departure. Ponte said his staff has been made aware of the situation. “As
it starts to sink in, people are asking questions: ‘Who’s going to run
it?’” Ponte said. “We don’t have any answers to that stuff.” The
possibility of running local jails is not a new concept to the Bay County
Sheriff’s Office. Department officials have suspected this day might arrive
and have assessed if such a venture would be a viable option. “We’ve heard
these rumors here, lately,” Major J.B. Holloway said of CCA’s exit, sounding
confident about Sheriff Frank McKeithen’s prospects of running such an
operation. “The sheriff has run a jail on a small scale,” Holloway said,
referring to his boss’s stint heading up a Gulf County facility when
McKeithen was the sheriff there. “I feel certain he could do it here.”
Regardless of what Bay County officials decide to do when CCA leaves, Ponte
hopes the people currently staffing the facilities will be included in the
plans. “This is a jail, it’s going to be run as a jail, and they’re going to
need people to run it,” he said, adding that CCA also is offering to
relocate some employees to other prison operations but that “a lot of
people don’t want to move.” Holloway said it would be “premature” to
discuss possible costs of running Bay County’s operations, but the
Sheriff’s Office previously stated it might not be able to match CCA’s
price. Girvin hinted the county might be open to paying more. That would
depend on many things,” Girvin said. “How much more? What kind of bang are
we getting for our buck?” CCA problems -- At times, officials have
indicated CCA’s bang for the buck has not been sufficient. Since first
beginning work in Bay County in October 1985, the private correctional
company has weathered a number of storms that caused local officials
concern. Last November, CCA released nine inmates early by accident. In
June 2007, an inmate fashioned a plastic utensil into a lock-pick and
briefly broke out of his cell. In 2005, a CCA nurse was fired after an
inmate gave birth inside the jail annex four hours after complaining of
labor pains. Another nurse, as well as a supervisor, was fired for having
sex with an inmate. In 2004, a nurse was shot in a hostage standoff after
inmates escaped from their cells. CCA said such instances were not a factor
in the decision to leave town. “No, operations did not play a role in this
at all,” said Grant, stressing CCA’s financial concerns. “Nothing else
played into that.” Recently, county officials have made strong statements
directed at CCA in regard to the company’s mishaps. “They’re going to run
it right, or we’ll get somebody who will run it right,” said County
Commissioner Mike Nelson, following the accidental inmate release last
fall. Girvin said that although CCA’s notice was not expected, it is an issue
county officials are ready to address. “While we’re not totally delighted
with the concept,” Girvin said, “it’s now in our lap and we’ll deal with
it.”
May 13, 2008 WJHG
Corrections Corporation of America, C-C-A, the private company which
has operated the Bay County Jail since 1985, says it has had enough and is
cancelling its contract effect October first. C-C-A made the disclosure in
a letter to the Bay County Commission revealed this morning. Reason for the
termination was not disclosed. The company said it was exercising its 150
day option spelled out in it 2006 contract with Bay County. The county
commission has scheduled a special meeting for Friday7 afternoon to discuss
several options, two of which include having the Sheriff take back
operations of the jail, or the commission operating the jail itself. Would
the Sheriff be interested? A spokesman for Sheriff Frank McKeithen said
this morning he would not have any comment on the C-C-A issue until he
meets with the county commission Friday. Meanwhile, work continues on the
building of the new Bay County jail in Bayou George. CCA will finish
building it before its contract expires.
November 21, 2007 News
Herald
Bay County commissioners sent a clear message Tuesday to Corrections
Corporation of America: Shape up or ship out, and pay $140,000. “We need to
go aggressively at them,” Commissioner Mike Nelson said. “We’re gonna have
to get it across to the folks up in Tennessee that we take this very
seriously.” Nashville-based CCA runs the Bay County Jail and Jail Annex. On
Nov. 1, the company mistakenly released nine inmates early from a substance
abuse program. All the inmates voluntarily returned within a week. A county
report released Nov. 13 listed a number of chinks in CCA’s armor.
Primarily, the report cited poor judgment on the part of jail staff as the
biggest reason for the oversight. “This is a jail, and it needs to be run
like one,” Nelson said. “It shouldn’t have happened; I don’t want it to
ever happen again.” In addition to corrective measures, such as notifying
the county within 30 minutes of an incident and creating new booking and
classification procedures, commissioners also are fining CCA $140,000 for
the inmates’ release. The contract with the corporation stipulates
financial penalties may be levied in such cases, and will be taken out of
the county’s monthly payments to CCA. The agenda for Tuesday’s County
Commission meeting did not list the jail issue. It came up during the
commissioner comments section of the meeting. No one from CCA spoke during
the meeting. The company is conducting its own investigation into the
inmates’ release. County officials signed a six-year contract in May 2006
for CCA to run the facility and build a $39.7 million annex. As a condition
of that contract, the county may break the relationship within 90 days
without cause, or within 30 days with cause. “When we were redoing our
contract we said, ‘new ballgame,’” Commission Chairman Jerry Girvin noted.
Nelson said CCA’s frequent lapses might merit exploring other options.
“What concerns me is what else is going on out there that we don’t know
about,” Nelson said. “I don’t want to see the county get into the jail
business … but the sheriff may have to.” Girvin directed county staff to
begin considering other options. He advised that such a consideration would
be in its infancy, and staffers should “not go 24/7 on it” in the hopes CCA
will begin tightening up its operation.
November 20, 2007 WJHG
Bay County wants to fine the Corrections Corporation of America $140,000 for
mistakenly releasing 10 inmates from the Bay County Jail earlier this
month. The fine stems from an incident that happened on November 1. CCA
worker released ten inmates enrolled in a drug rehab program, before they'd
completed their sentences. All of the inmates surrendered after CCA
discovered the mistake and notified them. A review by the county contract
monitor cited poor staff judgment, broad booking procedures, inadequate
staffing, and a seven-hour delay between the time the incident occurred and
the time it the contract monitor was notified. County commissioners say the
penalty is justified because the release violated the contract the county
has with CCA to operate the county jail system. The contract provides for
the fine, based on the $1.4 million monthly amount the county pays CCA to
house inmates. The fine is one percent of the monthly invoice, for each
inmate released. Commissioners say the incident is unacceptable. Mike
Nelson, Bay County Commissioner, "What I'm really upset about is there
was a seven hour delay before anyone at our place was ever notified, and
what concerns me even more is what else is going on our there that we don't
even know about?" Commissioner Nelson says the county will have to
watch CCA closer in the future. The board discussed other options including
the termination of CCA's contract, but did not take any action.
November 14, 2007 News-Herald
Someone with Corrections Corporation of America should have noticed nine
inmates were being freed early from the Bay County Jail on Nov. 1,
according to a county report released Tuesday. “That kind of carelessness
is something we can’t have,” said Bay County Commissioner Mike Nelson. “I
mean, they’re running a jail.” Employees of the Tennessee-based company
that operates the jail and jail annex for the county mistakenly released
the inmates who were part of the facility’s Lifeline Substance Abuse
Program. All nine inmates voluntarily returned within a week. Warden Joseph
Ponte said last week that CCA staff members mistakenly released the
individuals because their graduation certificates were printed early by a
staff member and misinterpreted by other staff members. The documents had
the correct release date for the inmates, but staff members overlooked it,
Ponte said. The county report found there were numerous times at which CCA
employees should have caught the mistake. At the very least, suspicions
should have been raised when the inmates themselves voiced concern, the
report stated. “Apparently, the staff they were telling thought it was
someone else’s responsibility,” said Rick Anglin, the county’s contract
monitor who interviewed CCA staff and inmates while preparing the report.
Anglin said if he had to pick one reason for the mishap, it would be
staffing. Three key staffers in the classification department were absent
the day of the incident. Another CCA shortfall mentioned in the report
concerned a seven-hour delay between the realization something had gone
wrong and notification of the county. Nelson said Ponte has yet to call the
county manager to discuss the matter. The report lists several corrective
actions to be taken. Primarily, the county liaison must be made aware of an
“unusual incident” within 30 minutes. New, clearly defined booking and
classification procedures also are called for. The county’s contract allows
for financial penalties when such an incident occurs. Nelson said county
attorneys are pursuing that course. CCA began its own investigation into
the matter the day it happened, Ponte said. That investigation should wrap
up within two weeks. Nelson said the incident has shown the county needs to
keep a closer watch over the corrections company. “We’re gonna have to
tighten up on them,” the commissioner said. “They’re gonna run it right, or
we’ll get somebody that will run it right.”
November 5, 2007 WMBB
TV13
An investigation is underway at the Bay County Jail Annex after an incident
that Chairman Commissioner Mike Nelson calls inexcusable. Nine inmate's
were released from the jail prior to the completion of their count-ordered
drug program and then told to come back. Thursday evening, The Bay County
Jail Annex released nine inmate's in the facilities lifeline substance
abuse program, which is a 120 day program. All nine offenders, five males,
and four females were being housed for misdemeanors charges and were
expected to complete the program within the next few weeks. Eight of the
offenders voluntarily returned to the program. The ninth offender, whose
residence is out of the state, is in the process of being notified.
"The county is going to put every effort to find out how this happened
and make sure it never happens again," said Nelson. Warden Ponte said
the mistake happened when inmate’s completion certificates were printed
early. "I apologize, this shouldn't have happened. We are doing
everything we can to prevent this from happening in the future," said
Ponte. The Bay County Jail is managed by Corrections Corporation of America
and hope to have the investigation completed in the next couple weeks.
September 27, 2007
News-Herald
Emerald Correctional Management LLC has taken a step back from the $13.2
million it sought from Bay County — a considerable step. The Louisiana
company, which argues it was slighted during the bidding process in 2005
for the county’s jail expansion project, now is seeking $514,050 to settle
a lawsuit. Obed Dorceus, attorney for Emerald Correctional, said the
reduction doesn’t reflect a loss of resolve. “My client wanted to make sure
the county knew he was willing to compromise,” Dorceus said. “But we still
believe in the case.” The county has not accepted the settlement offer.
Instead, it is requesting Emerald Correctional pay $35,000 in legal fees
and drop the case. W.C. Henry, who represents the county, called the
original $13.2 million “ridiculous, absurd; you’ve got to be kidding me.”
The most recent offer is “still blatantly absurd.” Emerald first brought
suit against the county in 2006. The company claimed the county’s bidding
process was tainted. Only two companies responded to the call for bids on
the project; Emerald’s came in a few million dollars below Tennessee-based
CCA. CCA, however, was awarded the job after both companies were asked to
clarify their bids. The company had a 20-year history working with the
county. The contract Bay County awarded CCA was for six years and more than
$36 million, and covers the demolition of the downtown jail, the expansion
of the jail annex and management of the completed facility. Ground has been
broken on the annex, with an expected completion date of May 2008. Emerald
sued the county, alleging it didn’t adhere to bidding rules. Bay County
Circuit Judge Glenn Hess dismissed the six-pronged complaint. In May, an
appellate court overturned two of Hess’ dismissals. Henry said the entire
case has stalled to some degree because Emerald has not filed a new
complaint after withdrawing the initial suit and focusing on the two
remaining issues. “We’ve kind of been working in limbo,” Henry said. “Right
now, there is no complaint. It’s kind of weird; this is very strange.”
Dorceus said he plans to file a new complaint soon. Depositions are planned
for Oct. 10. Several county employees, as well as Commissioner Mike Thomas,
will be deposed via video. Henry said the $35,000 legal fees offer is good
until Monday. He said it would spare everyone the costs of a courtroom.
“We’re gonna win, and we’re gonna win big in the end,” he said. “If they
see the light and realize they’re going to lose, we could save the costs.”
August 21, 2007 News-Herald
Seven suspected illegal immigrants were arrested Tuesday at a county work
site. Bay County sheriff’s deputies made the arrests Tuesday at the county
courthouse. The men were employed by BCL Contractors to work on the new
sally port project, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. Deputies
said they checked the employment records of the workers and found the men
had used stolen Social Security numbers. Each of the workers was charged
with criminal use of personal identification information. The arrests could
be a problem for county officials. The Bay County Commission unanimously
passed a resolution in March that would allow commissioners to break
contracts with companies that hired illegal workers. The resolution
provided the option of banning those companies from seeking county
contracts for at least a year. County spokeswoman Valerie Lovett said
Tuesday evening that the suspected illegals were working on a project
overseen by CCA, the company that runs the county jail. “At this point, we
don’t have the details,” Lovett said. “We will be having a conversation
with CCA to find out what happened.”
June 21, 2007 News
Herald
Bay County Jail officials still are trying to figure out how a murder
suspect escaped from his cell Monday night. Hermon Harmon, who faces the
death penalty if convicted of murder in the February shooting death of Jeff
Gillman, picked the lock on the door of his maximum security cell at the
Bay County Jail Annex on Nehi Road, using shaved plastic eating utensils,
according to an arrest affidavit. Plastic utensils were found in Harmon’s
cell, but Warden Joe Ponte said that is normal. “We give them (inmates)
plastic utensils with every meal,” he said. Ponte said jail maintenance
workers took the lock apart Tuesday and said it was working fine. Ponte
asked the lock’s manufacture, Brinks Lock Company, to send someone to
examine the lock. “We want to make sure we didn’t miss anything,” he said,
“and to make sure the locks are working properly.” An internal
investigation is ongoing, and Ponte said it should be completed early next
week. After Harmon was captured Monday night, officials checked the other
locks in the segregation pod at the annex. Only one lock was found to be
defective, and it has been fixed, Ponte said. Ponte began his term as
warden in January, and he said that prior to his arrival, the locks had a
tendency to be broken easily. If the inmates slammed the door shut when the
bolt was extended, it would damage the internal lock mechanism, Ponte said.
Inmates also could stuff anything in their cell into the locks and that
could short out the electronics, allowing the cell door to open.
June 19, 2007 WMBB
TV
In a closed executive session Tuesday, Emerald Correctional Management
asked for $13m. Emerald says the county violated its own bidding process by
awarding the new county jail contract to Corrections Corporation of
America. Shortly after the February bid award, Emerald filed suit but the
case was dismissed. Emerald appealed the decision and won the right for the
case to be reviewed again. Bay County Commission Chairman Mike Nelson said
earlier the Commission would likely not approve the settlement. Emerald has
threatened to sue if they aren't granted the $13m.
June 20, 2007 News
Herald
A man charged with murder broke out of his maximum-security cell Monday
night, using plastic eating utensils to pick the lock, according to an
arrest affidavit. Herman Harmon, 45, escaped about 9 p.m. from cell number
8 in a maximum-security pod at the Bay County Jail Annex on Nehi Road, said
Warden Joe Ponte. It’s not clear how Harmon, who is charged with
first-degree murder in the Feb. 26 shooting death of Jeff Gillman, picked
the lock on his cell. He faces additional charges after officers eventually
apprehended him. Ponte said the cell’s lock was working properly and an
internal investigation is under way. Ponte said he isn’t sure how Harmon
got out of his cell and didn’t want to speculate until the investigation is
completed. Once out of his cell, Harmon entered the common area of the
jail, then left the pod through a sliding metal door, which might have been
open, Ponte said. The warden said he’s also heard a few versions from
inmates and corrections officers on how Harmon got out of the pod. The pod
doors have a defect that allows them to be opened if someone forcibly pushes
it, but it makes a lot of noise. The warden said that all the pod doors are
due to be replaced. Outside of the pod, Harmon accessed a small, open post,
where he grabbed correctional officer Beverly Brennen by the neck and
demanded her portable radio, the affidavit stated. Brennen and Harmon
wrestled briefly and Brennen was able to call for help, Ponte said. Harmon
eventually got the radio and tried to have the control section open the
door leading to the exercise yard, but it was too late. A responding
officer captured Harmon in the hallway just outside of his pod, Ponte said.
Harmon has been charged with battery on a correctional officer, attempted
escape, depriving an officer with means of communication and possession of
contraband in a detention facility, according to court records. Judge
Thomas F. Welch ordered Harmon held on an $85,000 bond. Officers found a
garrote, which was made out of string, Ponte said. But Ponte doubted the
garrote was intended to hurt someone. “It was found in his cell,” he said.
“So if he wanted to do harm, he would have taken it with him.”
June 15, 2007 WMBB
TV
Next Tuesday the Bay County Commission will hold an Executive Session
to consider a lawsuit settlement. Emerald Correctional Management, Inc.
filed suit against the County after they say the County unfairly awarded a
contract for the new jail to Corrections Corporation of America. Emerald
Correctional says CCA was allowed to adjust their bid after it had already
been submitted. Now Emerald Correctional is making an offer to settle for
more than $13 million in damages.
June 6, 2007 News
Herald
Unsuccessful jail expansion bidder Emerald Correctional Management Inc. has
offered to settle its lawsuit against Bay County for $13.2 million. The
County Commission will meet in executive session June 19 to consider the
offer. County officials hinted Tuesday they were not inclined to pay any
money to the company, which alleges that the county violated state law and
the terms of its own request for proposals when it awarded a jail expansion
and operations contract to Corrections Corporation of America in February
last year. “Why should we pay them anything when we followed the law?”
Commissioner Bill Dozier said. Steve Afeman, executive vice president of
the Shreveport, La.-based Emerald Correctional Management, said Tuesday
$12.7 million is being sought in damages — money the company would have
realized had it been awarded the six-year contract. The remaining amount
pertains to time and money invested in preparing for the project, including
legal fees. The County Commission opened bidding for a new jail contract in
June 2005, which called for expanding the jail annex on Nehi Road, tearing
down the downtown Bay County Jail and constructing new holding cells
connected to the Bay County Courthouse. Only Emerald and Tennessee-based
CCA responded, with Emerald bidding at $31.8 million and CCA at $38.8
million. Both companies were asked to clarify parts of their proposals, and
the county determined that Emerald’s price would be $35.4 million and CCA’s
would be $36.4 million. CCA had been operating Bay County’s jails for more
than 20 years, and that longevity coupled with a satisfactory performance
weighed on commissioners’ decision to go with CCA. Circuit Court Judge
Glenn Hess in May last year threw out all six of Emerald’s complaints
against the county. Last month, the First District Court of Appeal ruled
that Hess improperly dismissed two of six complaints and directed him to
reconsider them.
May 7, 2007 WMBB
TV
An appeals court opinion could lead to a challenge for the Bay County
Commission. Back in June 2005, Bay County Commissioners opened bidding for
a contract to expand the Bay County Jail. Two companies entered bids. They
were Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, and Emerald Correction
Management, with Emerald entering the lower bid. Both companies were asked
to clarify certain points of their proposals, resulting in a reduction of
cost for CCA. The Commission then entered into contract negotiations with
CCA in December 2005. Emerald filed a letter in January 2006, formally
protesting the negotiations. The County Manager denied the protest, based
on a recommendation from the county purchasing agent. In February 2006,
Emerald filed a six count complaint. All six counts were dismissed. The
opinion from the District Court of Appeals, First District, agrees with
four of the dismissals, but raises objections to two. One count challenges
the county's decision to all CCA to estimate construction cost that may
later inflate. The other count relates to the county allowing CCA to make
certain changes to portion of their proposal. The opinion now leaves an
opening for Emerald to motion for a rehearing on those counts.
January 17, 2007 News
Herald
The final defendant in a 2004 jail standoff was cleared Tuesday for
trial. Kevin Winslett appeared before Circuit Judge Michael Overstreet for
a hearing to determine if Winslett is mentally competent for trial.
Winslett had been at a state mental hospital since December 2005, but
doctors cleared him a month ago to return to Bay County. Tuesday’s hearing,
which is required by law, was little more than a formality because
Winslett’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Doug White, acknowledged he
had no evidence to dispute the recent findings. Bay County Sheriff’s Office
investigators said Winslett, Kevin Nix, James Norton and Matthew Coffin
took over the fourth floor of the Bay County Jail on Sept. 5 and 6, 2004,
and held jail nurses hostage. The standoff ended when deputies stormed the
floor and shot one of the men and a nurse.
January 5, 2007 News-Herald
The state Supreme Court is weighing whether the property a prison sits on
in Bay County is exempt from taxation. Bay County Property Appraiser Rick
Barnett said the court heard the case Thursday. In 2006, the First District
Court of Appeal ruled the land could not be taxed, upholding a decision by
Circuit Court Judge DeDee Costello. She ruled the prison property is leased
through a state department, making it ineligible for property tax. Because
the issue is one being debated across the state, the appeals court moved
the question to the state’s highest court. Corrections Corporation of
America, the company that runs the county jail, owes about $2.2 million in
back taxes, Barnett said.
November 21, 2006 News-Herald
A former jail nurse shot during a hostage situation in 2004 sued
Corrections Corporation of America, Bay County and the Bay County Sheriff’s
Office on Monday. Ann Marie “Amie” Hunt filed suit for loss of earnings,
pain and suffering and medical expenses incurred after Sheriff’s Office
deputies shot her three times Sept. 6, 2004, when firing at four inmates
who had taken control of the Bay County Jail’s fourth floor. The bullets
entered her hip, back and left leg, damaging bones and vital organs. According
to the lawsuit, she has been in physical rehabilitation since the shooting.
“On or about September 6, 2004, several inmates took advantage of known
flaws in the security of the Bay County Jail and upon seizing the
opportunity of those security flaws, the inmates took control over the jail
and intentionally took control over the plaintiff Amie Hunt,” attorney H.
Lawrence Perry wrote in the complaint. Perry said Corrections Corporation
of America, the jail’s Tennessee-based corporate owner, Sheriff’s Office
and county, failed to maintain the electrical door locking system. The
takeover began when one of the inmates got out of a cell that did not lock
properly and freed the others, according to witness testimony at a criminal
trial in this case. Three of the four men involved in the takeover, Kevin
Nix, James Norton and Matthew Coffin were convicted of false imprisonment.
The fourth, alleged ringleader Kevin Winslett, has not been tried because
of mental problems that have kept him in the state mental hospital. Nix,
Norton and Coffin were acquitted of more serious charges in the incident,
but still sentenced to 15 years in prison for their roles. Perry wrote in
the lawsuit that the county, corporation and Sheriff’s Office were served
with notices of intent to sue in January, but had not responded. He was
unavailable for comment at his office Monday afternoon. Sheriff’s Office
spokeswoman Ruth Sasser said Sheriff Frank McKeithen had not received the
lawsuit and could not comment. Hunt testified on Sept. 8, 2005, in the
trial of Norton, Nix and Coffin. “At the very beginning,” she said,
choosing her words carefully, “they were a little nutty. They just wanted
to find a way out. They were as polite as they could be for the situation
we were in.” Then, she said, the inmates broke into the drug storage
lockers and began ingesting narcotics. “They started getting high and that
lasted for several hours,” Hunt said. “Then they started coming down.” She
said the situation was made worse by another dorm of inmates that, while
secured, were still breaking windows and going crazy after getting into a
medication cart. Hunt said Nix told her that those inmates wanted her and
the two other female nurses, but he would protect them. As the night
progressed, she said, Nix became agitated with nurse Glenda Baker’s
praying. Another nurse, Kathy Baucum, said Baker was constantly praying and
also “speaking in tongues.” When it came time to offer a hostage in return
for pizza and cigarettes, Nix insisted Baker go because she was “freaking
him out,” Hunt said. Then Baucum developed a migraine headache and she was
soon exchanged for more pizza and cigarettes. Another hostage, James Hall,
had been the first to be released. That left Hunt alone with the inmates.
The standoff ended, she said, when she was brought before a barred gate at
the end of a hall. Nix, she said, was standing behind her with a scalpel to
her throat. “I don’t know who shot me,” she said. “He was just a figure, a
person standing there, then boom. I looked down and I got shot. Then boom
and I got shot again.” One bullet shattered her knee, an injury that
incapacitated her for months. But Hunt was able to walk into court and take
the witness stand with the help of a cane.
August 18, 2006 News
Herald
An administrative law judge has recommended clearing a former county
attorney, former county manager and current assistant county manager of
alleged ethics violations. Judge Harry Hooper heard arguments in the case
in June against Assistant County Manager Bob Majka, former County Attorney
Nevin Zimmerman and former County Manager Jon Mantay. The central question
was whether the men violated ethics laws regarding gifts after they took a
February 2000 trip to view a Corrections Corporation of America jail in
Tennessee and a publicly run facility in Arizona. Other county officials
were present. CCA, based in Tennessee, paid for the airfare and lodging of
the three men and two former county commissioners. Zimmerman said during
the June 15 hearing that it was reasonable and beneficial to taxpayers for
a third party, such as CCA, to pay for “fact-finding” trips that county
officials take. CCA has operated Bay County’s jails for 20 years, and the
county was negotiating a new contract with the company at the time of the
trip. That parallel drew the ire of the Florida Police Benevolent
Association, which initiated the ethics complaints in July 2003 and
referred the case to the Florida Ethics Commission. The commission in
September 2004 found probable cause that Mantay, Zimmerman and Majka may
have violated gift laws. In his recommended order, though, Hooper ruled the
gifts were not directed to the three men but to the county, so they were
not required to report the gifts. The attorneys for either party can file
“exceptions” to the recommendation within 15 days, and the Ethics
Commission will review those submissions along with Hooper’s finding before
entering a final order. Ethics Commission attorney Linzie Bogan said
Thursday that he likely would file a response for the commission to consider.
“How I’ll respond will depend on how the judge laid out his order,” he
said, explaining that he just received the order and had not looked over
all of it yet. “I would hope the commission would be open to persuasion on
this issue,” he said. “I still feel there are violations.”
July 20, 2006 News
Herald
At least two residents who live near the Bay County Jail Annex on Nehi
Road object to a proposed zoning and land-use change for adjacent property
to allow jail expansion. Shelley and David Hickman, of Nehi Road, stated in
a letter to county officials that they believe approving a zoning change
from agriculture-timberland to public institutional for 14.2 acres will
create a wave of construction of other “institutional” facilities in the
area. The Planning Commission will vote on the items today at its regular
meeting, and the County Commission, which has final say, will consider that
recommendation when it takes up the issue in a couple of weeks. “As I see
it, it would mean that there would have to be lawyer offices to aid
inmates, and also do not forget about the need for bail bond facilities and
halfway houses and shelters and other types of businesses that ‘feed off’
the ‘institution,’” the Hickmans wrote. In an interview, Shelley Hickman
also said she thinks it is a moot point to consider the zoning and land-use
changes now when the county already has awarded a contract to Corrections
Corporation of America for construction at the annex. CCA officials have
said they hope to break ground by December. Martin Jacobson, planning and
zoning division manager, said the CCA-led construction and zoning and
land-use changes are “independent of each other.” County staff is rec-
ommending the switch to public institutional for the 14.2 acres, he said,
with the condition that use of the property is limited to jail operations.
The Florida Department of Community Affairs has to review the proposed
land-use change, as it does with any property greater than 10 acres.
June 20, 2006 News
Herald
On an average day, the Bay County Jail in downtown Panama City is 100 to
150 inmates above capacity. The 30-year-old facility’s design provides
additional daily headaches for jail staff, inmates and defense attorneys.
“There’s a lot of wasted space and there’s not enough space,” explained
Assistant Warden Richard Thore. There are not enough holding cells, so
interview rooms have been converted for backup use. Interviews are
conducted wherever there is room. There is one small room for booking and
taking fingerprints, which slows the inmate admitting process. And from the
jail’s central command post, guards cannot see all of the 12-cell pods.
They must be viewed individually, which necessitates several jail guards
instead of one. “Everything that should be easy becomes difficult and time-consuming,”
including preparing meals in a kitchen not large enough or designed to
accommodate 400 inmates, Thore said. The kitchen is situated on the second
floor of the six-floor building, so employees have to take extra time to
pick up food on a loading dock and transfer it to the second floor. New
facility. Overcrowding has persisted at both jails for at least the past 10
years, according to county inmate counts. There are 410 beds at the jail
annex on Nehi Road, but there are about 500 inmates there. Both jails —
operated for the past 20 years by Corrections Corporation of America — now
keep inmates of all security classifications, said Jennifer Taylor, CCA’s
senior director of business development. In January, Panama City Beach
attorney Jeremy Early documented problems he saw at the jail for his boss,
Public Defender Herman Laramore. Assistant Public Defender Susan Rogers
said she forwarded Early’s memo to county officials. One issue Early
identified was lack of space for female inmates, who are held long-term
only at the annex on Nehi Road. In a memo on Jan. 25, Early stated that he
saw at least 20 women in a holding cell at the main jail who had either
pleaded out at first appearance or had been released on their own
recognizance a day or two prior. Early said Judge Elijah Smiley told him to
record their names. “As I started taking their names, a CCA guard came in
and removed some of the women before I could get all their names … I
personally heard one of the CCA guards tell (am inmate) she was being held
because CCA had lost her paperwork.”
June 19, 2006 News
Herald
About half of the Bay County jail system’s correctional officers left in
2004 and 28 percent quit last year, making effective and safe operations
tough to achieve, county officials say. High turnover has been a primary
concern of Commissioner Jerry Girvin, a retired captain with the Bay County
Sheriff’s Office, which ran the jail until the county awarded the original
Corrections Corporation of America contract in 1985. Girvin said the constant
hiring of new guards unfamiliar with Bay County’s jails jeopardizes
security. “An experienced correctional officer can sense the need and
circumvent a situation from occurring or minimize the effect,” he said.
Jason Bradley Sims, a 30-year-old who recently was detained at the main
jail on Harmon Avenue for violating his probation for a battery charge,
said fighting among inmates is frequent, partly because there aren’t enough
guards. “I’ve been in at least a dozen fights in the last two years,” said
Sims, who has spent the majority of his life locked up in Bay County jails
and in correctional institutions elsewhere in the state. Assistant Warden
Richard Thore said understaffing is not leading to more inmates beating one
another. “They’re going to fight whether guards are there or not,” he said.
For an attorney representing an inmate at first appearance, new
correctional guards are sometimes a source of frustration for mistakes made
or delays in bringing inmates to the hearings. Occasionally, Deputy Public
Defender Walter Smith said, guards show up with the wrong inmate because of
similarities in names. Frequent turnover of jail guards, he said,
contributes to complications in the first appearance process. “They always
have new people coming in,” he said of CCA. New jail guards and the company
they work for are not solely responsible for difficulties during a first
appearance, he added. “It’s not all CCA’s fault. It’s the warrants
division; it’s correctional guards calling in sick. …” Turnover problems
locally also rise to the top. The past two wardens of the Bay County Jail
have stayed on the job only six and eight months, respectively. Kevin
Watson took the post in December 2004, relieving Denny Durbin, who was
warden for 19 years. Watson requested a transfer in August 2005, citing
personal reasons. Mark Henry came in as the replacement, but he departed in
March, also citing personal reasons. Durbin is back as the interim warden
until a new warden is found. Former wardens could not be reached for
comment, but Jennifer Taylor, senior director of business development for
CCA, said Watson is still with the company in Indianapolis. Her explanation
for Henry’s departure was that the job “was a lot more demanding than he
thought going into it.” Some of the reasons for the difficulty in drawing
people into corrections work also account for the frequent departures.
Starting salary currently for guards at Bay County’s jails is $27,296, and
some of them decide several months or a year into the job that they can’t
continue to support themselves or their families with that pay, Thore said.
Quitting after a few months or a year on the job, Durbin said, is not
always a symptom of dissatisfaction with the employer; it may have more to
do with the general evolution of their careers. “Corrections officers are
very mobile and want to try new things,” he said, noting that many former
Bay County guards have ventured to Washington Correctional Institute in
Washington County and other state-operated prisons. Thore said he believes that
the appeal of working for state prisons, which pay more and are continually
being built as Florida’s inmate population grows, is the main culprit of
local turnover. “The state has given (jail guards) at least two raises in
the last year-and-a-half, and that makes it extra difficult for us to
compete,” he said. There are young people looking for their first job who
pick a jail guard position for lack of decisiveness, Thore said. “The
reality of the job hits when we’re booking 16,000 inmates a year. Sometimes,
that creates a little turnover.” Of the 48 correctional guards in 2005
whose employment at Bay County’s jails was severed, 21 were voluntary and
involved no misconduct. But jail guards testing positive for drug use,
having unprofessional relationships with inmates and smuggling contraband
into the jail also were to blame for high turnover. The guards committing
these and other offenses — which totaled nine — were fired in 2005 for
violating state moral character standards or violating CCA and county policies,
according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. Ken Kopczynski,
a legislative affairs assistant for of the Florida Police Benevolent
Association and vocal CCA opponent, called Bay County’s turnover
outrageous. “How can you properly run a facility when half of the people
don’t have any experience” at that facility? said Kopczynksi, who is also
executive director of Private Corrections Institute Inc., an organization
that opposes privately run correctional facilities. While the turnover rate
at Bay County’s jails is high, it is tame compared to the departures at
some other CCA facilities in Florida. Hernando County jails, for instance,
had a turnover rate of 82 percent in 2003, 75 percent in 2004 and 69
percent in 2005. Other CCA-run facilities in Florida had the following
turnover rates in 2005: Gadsden Correctional Institution, 48 percent; Lake
City Correctional Facility in Columbia County, 57 percent; and Citrus
County Detention Facility, 28 percent. Turnover at Bay Correctional Institute,
the CCA-operated state prison on Bayline Drive off U.S. 231, was 19
percent. In 2004, turnover was 36.7 percent. Taylor said the company’s jail
staff is “down some everywhere” at its 63 U.S. facilities, but it is not at
a critical point. “If it was at a critical point, we’d pull people in from
other facilities. “It’s hard to find people to work in a jail,” she added.
“We have to do extra things to attract employees and keep them there.” The
company recently started posting help wanted messages on billboards in
various locations, including Bay County, Taylor said. One on Tyndall
Parkway aimed at military men and women reads: “From Camouflage to
Corrections.” “We’ve found that people coming out of the military make very
good correctional officers,” she said. Targeting military personnel is not
a new focus of CCA’s, but there has been a stronger emphasis on attaining
that demographic in the past year, she added. CCA also has been filling
some vacancies in Bay County with part-time correctional officers, said CCA
spokesman Steve Owen. Until it gets closer to full staff, the company is
operating with mandatory overtime for all correctional guards, Thore said.
Thore said 10 to 15 more guards are needed to be at normal levels.
Currently, about 30 non-certified officers and 147 certified officers man
the two county jails. While jail guard pay is mid-range compared to what
guards at other Florida CCA facilities make, it’s far from the six digit
incomes corporate bigwigs bring home. The highest-paid executive for CCA, John
Ferguson, has a 2006 salary of $700,000 plus a $677,727 bonus, according to
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But Owen defended the
salaries for jail guards as competitive, especially since about two months
ago the company started paying people attending the three month
certification school the salary of uncertified officers. Certified
jail-guard pay at the Bay County jail and annex has risen almost $2,000 in
the past two years, up from $25,475 in 2004. Jackson County Correctional Facility,
which is county-operated, has not approved a higher pay grade for its new
certified guards since 2004; the salary stands at $23,947. The $20,500
salary at Gadsden County Jail hasn’t changed since 2003. The sheriff’s
office there runs the facility. Escambia County currently offers certified
correctional guards $30,400 at its two detention facilities, and Franklin
County Jail jumped its pay by $3,000 over last year and is now $27,500. The
sheriff’s offices in all three counties run the jails. CCA-run Hernando
County Jail upped its pay for certified guards this year from $28,000 to
$32,000.
June 16, 2006 News
Herald
Former Bay County Manager Jon Mantay joined a former county attorney and
the current assistant county manager Thursday in defending themselves
against an ethics complaint before an administrative law judge in Panama
City. Two attorneys representing Mantay, former County Attorney Nevin
Zimmerman and Assistant County Attorney Bob Majka sparred with an attorney
for the Florida Commission on Ethics over the legality of a February 2000
trip the three men took to view a Corrections Corporation of America jail facility
in Tennessee and a publicly run facility in Arizona. CCA, based in
Tennessee, paid for the airfare and lodging of the three men and two former
county commissioners. CCA has operated Bay County’s jails for 20 years, and
the county was negotiating a new contract with the company during the time
of the trip. The Florida Police Benevolent Association initiated the ethics
complaints in July 2003, and the ethics commission in September 2004 found
probable cause that Mantay, Zimmerman and Majka may have violated gift
laws. Much of the attention during Thursday’s hearing before Judge Harry
Hooper focused on Zimmerman and his declaration to county officials that
the trip and payment arrangements were legal. Zimmerman said it was
reasonable and beneficial to taxpayers for a third party, such as CCA, to
pay for “fact-finding” trips that county officials take. “That (logic) is
reflected in our ordinances and regulations — to have developers pay for
permitting based on the time it takes county staff to process the permits,”
he said. The Bay County officials that went to Tennessee and Arizona, he
said, needed to see in person how other facilities were handling
overcrowding and recidivism, which are problems here. There is local
precedent for allowing a company to pay for such trips, Zimmerman said. In
1997, several county officials traveled to Vancouver, Canada, and Long
Island, N.Y., to view facilities now run by Montenay Bay LLC. Westinghouse
Corp., which wanted another company to run the Bay County waste-to energy incinerator,
paid for that trip. Ethics commission attorney Linzie Bogan challenged
Zimmerman’s interpretation of Florida statutes on gift laws, and he tried
to discredit Zimmerman for not reviewing ethics cases between 1997 and 2000
related to acceptance of gifts. “It’s not a gift if it’s an expense related
to your employment,” Zimmerman said. Bogan insisted the definition of gift
was clear, but Hooper said the entire statute governing acceptance of gifts
(112.312) is not clear to him. “First you have to determine if it was to
their benefit. … Do people benefit from looking at a bunch of prisoners?”
Hooper said. Majka said during his testimony that he was unaware CCA paid
for his airfare for the trip until records were being collected at county
offices three years later in connection to the ethics complaint. But he
said he learned the company paid for his lodging while at the hotel. In
2000, Majka was the emergency services chief and shared responsibility with
other officials in jail oversight. Hooper said not knowing CCA paid for the
trip does not produce a “complete defense” for Majka. The ethics
commission, however, dropped the allegations against former County
Commissioners Carol Atkinson and Danny Sparks because they had no knowledge
CCA covered the expenses. Sparks and former County Commissioner Richard
Stewart have admitted and paid fines for violating gift laws by accepting a
round of golf paid by county financial adviser Gary Askers. Majka faces the
same allegation, but his attorney, Albert Gimbel, said Thursday that he
didn’t know how Majka would plead to that issue. Majka declined to comment.
After Hooper has had sufficient time to review the facts of the case, he
will issue a recommended finding for the ethics commission to consider.
Tallahassee attorney Gary Early, representing the Bay County officials,
said it would be at least two months for Hooper has a recommendation.
May 23, 2006 News-Herald
Bay Medical Center is seeking payment for the treatment of four
patients who were either furloughed from the Bay County Jail or booked
after their stay. County and Bay Medical will meet at the hospital
Wednesday to discuss the cases that date back as far as 2000. The meeting
was scheduled after a circuit judge — at the county’s request — ordered
that the hospital and the county attempt to resolve the conflict over
payments out of court. Bay Medical filed several lawsuits seeking payment
from the county in 2003. The lawsuits later were consolidated. Hospital CEO
Steve Johnson requested Wednesday’s meeting in a letter May 2 to County
Manager Edwin Smith. When prisoners have no means of paying for hospital
treatment, Florida law places responsibility on the county where the
patient was arrested. “We believe that the county cannot avoid its
responsibility by obtaining temporary medical furloughs or by dropping
arrestees off at the hospital before booking them into jail,” Johnson wrote
in his letter to Smith. County correctional program manager Roger Hagen
said the county pays about $350,000 in medical bills for inmates each year.
Payment issues between hospitals and local governments are common, he said.
“The judge is issuing an order. It’s legal. There’s no question about it,”
Hagen said. “We’re trying to minimize the exposure to the county, but just
to have them all the sudden not be under the jurisdiction of the county,
now is that playing by the rules? It is playing by the legal rules, but it
does create an exposure for Bay Medical.” When very sick individuals are
jailed for minor crimes, Hagen said he has encouraged CCA employees to ask
judges to consider their release. However, Hagen said he was unaware until
Johnson raised the issue that prisoners were being released with a
requirement that they return to the jail after treatment. The jail is run
under contract by Corrections Corporation of America, but the county pays
for patient treatment outside of the jail. However, a new contract starting
in October puts the first $10,000 in medical bills per inmate on CCA’s tab.
“When the new contract goes into effect, CCA is going to have the exposure
up to $10,000,” Hagen said. “I’m sure they’re going to be highly motivated
to encourage the judge to reduce those costs. Whether the judge goes along
with it, I don’t know.”
May
2, 2006 WJHG
A lawsuit challenging the awarding of a contract to build and operate a new
Bay County Jail has been dismissed. Circuit Judge Glen Hess tossed out the
suit filed by Emerald Corrections against the Bay County Commission and
Corrections Corporation of America. The dismissal Monday clears the way for
the county and CCA to continue planning to build a new county jail adjacent
to the jail annex in Bayou George. Emerald had challenged the awarding of
the contract for the project to CCA saying it wasn't the lowest and best
bidder. It’s the second time Judge Hess dismissed the Emerald Corrections
lawsuit.
April 26, 2006 News
Herald
Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hess heard arguments Monday in Bay County’s
motion to dismiss a correctional company’s lawsuit accusing the county of
wrongdoing in awarding a contract to Corrections Corporation of America for
jail construction and operation. Hess did not immediately rule on the
motion and offered no comments during the hourlong hearing. He said he
might make a decision this week. County attorney William C. Henry and
counsel for CCA used their time to try to discredit Emerald Correctional
Management LLC’s six-count complaint. Their dominant argument was that the
county acted within its “legislative, discretionary role” in reviewing and
ranking both companies’ responses to the county’s request for proposals, or
RFPs, to build a new jail. Emerald has alleged that Bay County violated
Florida procurement laws, Sunshine Laws and the RFP terms. On Monday, Henry
said Emerald failed to provide certain facts and meet specific criteria in
order to make a request for injunctive relief to prevent CCA from receiving
the contract. Addressing Emerald’s allegation that the county violated Sunshine
laws, Henry said the plaintiff was not a citizen of Florida and therefore
lacked standing to make that claim. Emerald’s attorney, Obed Dorceus of
Tallahassee, told Hess that “courts must liberally construe” Florida law to
determine whether Emerald has standing to claim there were Sunshine law
violations as an individual rather than on behalf of the public’s interest.
The county wants a 150,000-square-foot addition to the existing jail annex
on Nehi Road, creating 680 new beds in addition to the existing 410. The
RFP also called for the downtown Bay County Jail to be demolished and for
construction of new holding cells connected to the Bay County Courthouse.
Emerald, based in Shreveport, La., proposed a price of $31.8 million to
complete the project, while CCA’s price was $38.8 million. After the bids
were unsealed, the county clarified the figures to take into account
differences in each firm’s proposals. In the end, the county determined
that Emerald’s price is $35.4 million and CCA’s is $36.4 million. Dorceus
has claimed that the county simply amended the figures to suit
Tennessee-based CCA, which holds a contract to operate the county’s jails
through October. But Henry defended the county’s handling of the jail RFP,
saying that local ordinance “gives a great deal of discretion to deal with
the procurement process.” CCA attorney Cliff Higby’s main point to Hess
during the hearing was that as long as “reasonable people could disagree”
on whether CCA or Emerald had the best proposal, the courts should not
intervene. In February, Hess denied Emerald’s request for an emergency
injunction to prevent the county from signing a contract with CCA. Neither
the contract for construction nor operations and maintenance have been
signed, however.
April 8, 2006 News
Herald
Bay Medical Center’s CEO wants the county and local municipalities to
take on greater responsibility for criminals and police suspects who are
treated at the hospital. Steve Johnson has requested a meeting with Bay
County Sheriff Frank McKeithen and Panama City Police Chief John Van Etten
to discuss the matter. In a letter addressed to McKeithen and Van Etten on
March 27, Johnson complains that the law enforcement agencies are waiting
until injured or sick suspects are discharged from the hospital to arrest
them, leaving the hospital responsible for charges when patients have no
health coverage. Also, Johnson writes, prisoners are being released from
the Bay County Jail for hospital treatment and picked up by authorities
after discharge. “I really don’t see how Bay Medical can continue to fund
this practice,” Johnson said in the letter, which also was sent to the Bay
County and Panama City commissions, Panama City Mayor Lauren DeGeorge and
the hospital’s board of trustees. Johnson said he plans to schedule the
meeting next week. In the event of injury or illness at the time of or
during an arrest, Florida laws puts responsibility for medical payment
first with the patient, then with the county or municipality where the
person was arrested in the event that the individual does not have medical
coverage. Roger Hagen, the county’s correctional program manager, said
Johnson’s concerns are not unique to Bay County. “It’s an ongoing dilemma —
who’s going to pay for this kind of care,” Hagen said. The same issues
Johnson is complaining of are among the reasons that Gulf Coast Medical
Center, the county’s private hospital, raised rates for prisoners about a
year ago, said Wes Fountain, Gulf Coast’s chief financial officer. “They,
being the county or the Sheriff’s Office, don’t take ownership of these
patients at certain points,” Fountain said. “Some patients, they would have
financial responsibility for.” “And a lot of patients, they would not have
responsibility for and it was unclear to us a lot of time which ones were
it. That was the problem — just kind of understanding it.” An agreement was
signed June 21 making non-profit Bay Medical Center, the larger or the
county’s two hospitals, the primary provider for county prisoners. Gulf
Coast served the same role before the hospital raised charges. Knowing what
had happened with Gulf Coast, Hagen said of Bay Medical, “They knew the
risk of what they were walking into.” Under the agreement with Bay Medical,
hospitalized inmates are treated at a discounted daily rate of $1,248 with
special rates for some services like cardiac care, Hagen said. Addressing
the complaint that prisoners are being released from custody and dumped on
the hospital, Hagen said he did not know of any instances in which
prisoners were released for hospital care and taken back into custody for
the same charges after their hospital discharge. However, in some cases,
Hagen said prisoners who need hospital care are evaluated to determine
whether they really need to be in jail. For example, Hagen said, if a
prisoner were taken to the hospital with chest pains, the case might be
reviewed and if that individual were in jail for a light offense, such as
being intoxicated in a right of way, jailers might request that a judge
release the individual from custody. “It’s got to be a minor situation
before a judge would go ahead and do something like that,” Hagen said. Bay
County is finalizing a new contract with jail operator Corrections
Corporation of America, and Hagen suggested some of the issues between the
county and the hospital might be resolved when that contract goes into
effect in October. The county has been picking up all medical costs outside
the jail, but the new contract requires that CCA pay the first $10,000 in
charges per inmate. Johnson said there have been informal talks about the
hospital’s concerns, but he decided those talks were getting nowhere after
reading comments made by local law enforcement representatives in a March
21 News Herald article. The article was about a local man who was shot by
police during a drug investigation. He faced charges from the Sheriff’s
Office and the Panama City Police Department and was arrested upon release
from the hospital. Explaining why the man was not arrested before his
release, Panama City Police Sgt. Kevin Miller told The News Herald, “If we
were to arrest him, he would be in our custody, therefore our
responsibility.” Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Ruth Sasser said, “We don’t
usually arrest people while they’re in the hospital and when the appropriate
time came we arrested him.” Johnson described the comments as a blatant
description of the practices he is concerned with. McKeithen declined
comment on the issue Friday. “I’m sure all of these issues will be
addressed at the meeting,” Sasser said. Van Etten was unavailable for
comment.
March 22, 2006 News
Herald
It's time again to put the "Help Wanted" sign out in front of
the Bay County Jail after the facility experienced another sudden departure
of its warden. Mark Henry resigned as jail warden Tuesday, said Steve Owen,
a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, the private company
that operates the jail for Bay County. Owen said the resignation was
effective immediately and that former Warden Denny Durbin will serve as the
interim warden until a replacement is found. Owen said Henry did not
provide a written resignation but told CCA officials he was leaving the
company for "personal reasons." The former Jackson County Jail
warden's departure comes six months after he took over the jail in wake of
the transfer of then-Warden Kevin Watson. In August, Watson was granted a
request for a transfer. He also cited "personal reasons" as the
basis for his request. Watson's request came the same day CCA confirmed the
termination of then-Assistant Warden John Rochefort for violating CCA
policies. Watson had taken over as Bay County Jail's warden in December
2004, replacing Durbin - who had served as the jail's warden since 1987.
Owen said county officials have been notified of Henry's abrupt
resignation. Attempts to contact Henry and Roger Hagen, the county's
contract monitor, were unsuccessful Tuesday. The Bay County Jail and CCA's
contract with the county have been the subject of increased scrutiny since
Durbin's final year at the helm. In September 2004, a CCA nurse was shot by
police during a hostage standoff between officers and inmates who broke out
of their cells thanks in part to mistakes by jail staff and faulty locks.
Last year at the jail, an attempted escape by an accused cop killer was
foiled after jail and police officials discovered the suspect had saw
blades smuggled into his cell. Also, CCA fired a jail supervisor and a
nurse after learning the nurse was reportedly having sex with an inmate. In
November, a nurse was fired and another nurse reprimanded after a pregnant
inmate delivered a premature baby inside the Bay County Jail Annex four
hours after the woman complained of labor pains. CCA currently faces a
civil suit from a fellow jail management company that claims it was cheated
when the county renewed its contract with CCA in February.
March 8, 2006 News
Herald
An accused cop killer and a man suspected of leading a 2004 jail floor
takeover face additional charges after attacking a jail guard on Tuesday,
according to a news release. Authorities charged Robert James Bailey, 23,
and Kevin Bradley Winslett, 35, with battery on a corrections officer
stemming from separate incidents at the Bay County Jail Annex. According to
the Bay County Sheriff’s Office: On Tuesday morning, a jail maintenance worker
was placing plastic shields around Winslett’s cell to prevent him from
throwing liquids at guards. Winslett threatened to throw urine at the
worker before tossing an unknown liquid and forcing guards to remove him
from his cell. During a struggle, Winslett kicked a shield into the guard’s
face — splitting the guard’s lip. A few hours later, Bailey threw an
unknown liquid at maintenance workers who were putting shielding around his
cell. The same jail guard who was reportedly injured by Winslett went into
the cell and was confronted by Bailey, who was armed with a homemade shiv
crafted out of a toothbrush and barbed wire. Bailey cut the guard’s head
before being disarmed and restrained. Investigators are not sure how Bailey
obtained the barbed wire.
February 25, 2006 News
Herald
Circuit Judge Glenn Hess cleared the way Friday for the county to sign
a contract with Corrections Corporation of America for the construction and
maintenance of a new jail. Hess denied a request from Emerald Correctional
Management for an emergency injunction to prevent the county from sealing
the deal. Emerald’s lawyer, Obed Dorceus of Tallahassee, told Hess that the
county violated state law and its own procedures in awarding CCA the jail
contract over Emerald. Dorceus said Emerald’s proposal for the jail project
was $5 million less than CCA’s. But, he said, after the proposals were
unsealed, the county asked for clarification and allowed CCA to modify its
proposal. Then, Dorceus said, the county approved the revised proposal and
agreed to a contract. “They just waited to resolve it in a manner that
benefited CCA,” he said. The County Commission voted Tuesday to sign the
six-year contract with CCA. Its attorney advised that the board did not
need to wait until a judge ruled on Emerald’s request. Emerald proposed a
price of $31.8 million to complete the project while CCA’s price was $38.8
million. After the clarification process, the county determined that
Emerald’s price actually will be $35.4 million and CCA’s $36.4 million. Emerald
also is seeking damages and ultimately to have the county’s decision
reversed. Dorceus said he feels confident that at the end of a trial in
this matter the judge would “direct the board to award the contract to
(Emerald).” The county’s attorney, William Henry, argued that this was a
request for proposal, not a bid, and the county made it clear throughout
the process that it had the right to reject any proposal. He said CCA’s
proposal was closer to what the county wanted. The bid process has more
legal restrictions than a request for proposals. Essentially, when the
county asks for a bid on a project it knows what it wants done, how it
wants it done and what materials are to be used, then puts out a request
for companies to offer their cheapest price to do the work. By law, the
county is required to accept the lowest bid. Requests for proposals are
used when the county wants a project done but does not know how to do it.
It then asks companies for a game plan as well as cost projections. When
those come in, the county then negotiates with the companies to try to get
the best price and contracts with the most favorable. The county is not
required to accept the lowest price in a request for proposal. Hess said it
was that flexibility in the request for proposal that saved the deal with
CCA. “The language of this makes it very clear that the county didn’t have
to accept or do anything but look at the paperwork and say, ‘This is all
very nice,’” he said. Dorceus said both processes require the county to
adhere to policies and give fair treatment to the companies involved. Roger
Hagen, who oversees the jail contract for the county, testified that
neither Emerald nor CCA provided an exact response to the request for
proposal, so county staff requested both companies to clarify their plans.
After seeing the proposals in better detail, Hagen said county staff
members scored the plans and CCA was viewed as the better prospect. He said
neither company was allowed to alter its proposal during the clarification
process. Hagen said the county’s proposal was four-part: design and build
an extension at the annex on Nehi Road; operate the new facility; demolish
the old downtown jail; and finance the project. Emerald, he said, proposed
a separate building next to the annex but not connected to it. That would
mean separate kitchens, laundries, staff and check-in procedures. Hagen
said that would make for a cheaper construction plan, but more expensive
operational costs in the long run. He said the county specifically asked
for an addition to the annex to keep operational costs down and CCA’s
proposal was closer to what the county envisioned. Hagen said CCA also had
more experience than Emerald in operating a jail. Hagen acknowledged that
CCA had no experience in jail operations before it was awarded its first
contract with Bay County 20 years ago. Dorceus pointed out that CCA’s
proposal did not fix a price to the final project, but left in an option to
renegotiate the price if material costs are higher due to post-Hurricane
Katrina construction projects. The jail project goes into design phase as
soon as the contract is signed. Construction is slated to begin in July.
CCA’s current jail contract would have expired in October.
February 22, 2006 News
Herald
Corrections Corporation of America will continue its tenure as Bay County
jail operator, although a new contract which the County Commission approved
Tuesday allows for a quick, cost-free termination. At its regular meeting
in Panama City Hall, the board voted 4-1 to enter into a six-year contract
with the Tennessee based CCA, plus a two-year contract for constructing an
expansion to the jail annex on Nehi Road and other related projects. Bob
Majka, assistant county manager, told commissioners that construction costs
dropped from $41.5 million to $39.7 million through “value engineering,”
such as using a chain-link fence versus concrete to serve as a yard
barricade. Majka and the rest of county staff accepted mostly praise for
their work, although two commissioners said staff should have produced an
estimate for the Bay County Sheriff’s Office to run the jail. Commissioners
George Gainer and Jerry Girvin said they wanted to see what it would cost
the county to run the jail, and Gainer had the harshest words for Majka for
not having that information. “I’m a little put out with staff because you
didn’t do what you said you would do,” said Gainer, who voted against the
motion to bestow CCA with the contract. But Majka said there was no
instruction from commissioners to get that figure. According to Thomas,
Sheriff Frank McKeithen has told him that his department could run the jail
but probably not for less money than any private firm could. One resident,
Tom Misskerg, told commissioners they “need to take a harder look at jail
operations” before awarding a contract. Later, he addressed the board again
to ask about potential consequences if another jail construction firm wins
its lawsuit against the county over its RFP process. Emerald Correctional
Management LLC — the only other firm to bid for the project — has alleged
that the county violated state procurement laws and Sunshine Laws when
considering proposals. County attorney Mike Burke would not divulge details
about the situation, but assured the board: “We wouldn’t have let you go
ahead with this contract if we thought there was a problem.”
February 17, 2006 News
Herald
Youth, stupidity and blind love were not enough to keep accused cop killer
Robert Bailey’s girlfriend from a prison sentence on Thursday. But
admitting her guilt may have saved Andrea Guenette seven extra years behind
bars. Circuit Judge Glenn Hess sentenced Guenette, 22, of Wisconsin, to
three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to introducing contraband to
the Bay County Jail and conspiring to commit escape. She could have
received a 10-year sentence. Guenette gave hacksaw blades to a jail trusty
who gave them to Bailey. Bailey, 23, is accused of shooting to death Panama
City Beach Police Sgt. Kevin Kight during a traffic stop last year and
faces the death penalty if he’s convicted as charged of first-degree
murder.
February 10, 2006 News
Herald
Bay County officials on Thursday rejected all of Emerald Correctional
Management’s claims in a lawsuit that the bidding process for a jail
expansion project was improper and illegal. Meanwhile, the company’s
attorney, Obed Dorceus of Tallahassee, said he will ask Judge Glenn Hess to
expedite a hearing for a temporary injunction against the county to halt
its negotiations with Corrections Corporation of America. “We’re concerned
that if the county proceeds with a flawed (selection) process, we may not
be able to get some of the remedies we’re asking for,” Dorceus said. The
most important objective for Emerald, Dorceus said, is to receive the
contract to design and build a Bay County correctional facility. In the
lawsuit, Emerald states that the county permitted CCA to modify its
proposal after all proposals were opened, violating state law. The county
said in a letter to Dorceus that it never asked for a fixed price in the
RFP and that “both firms were asked to clarify their proposals to allow the
board to conduct due diligence and select a firm with whom to begin
negotiations.”
January 20, 2006 News
Herald
In a strip cell at the Bay County Jail Annex, on suicide watch next to an
inmate with a penchant for beating up cellmates, Sweatt wanted out in the
worst way. He made a ruckus, yelled for guards, even broke a toilet seat to
no avail. Shoeless and clad in a jail gown, the 49-year-old crawled onto a
mat on the floor to sleep. He awoke to a severe stomping and, later, brain
swelling — all thanks to a “questionable assignment” and drastic
overcrowding, according to an incident review obtained by The News Herald.
The incident underscores a consistent theme — too many prisoners and too
few places to put them — hashed over by county officials and Corrections
Corporation of America, the private company paid $16.3 million this year to
run facilities downtown and near Nehi Road. A report compiled by Bay
County’s contract monitor and released this week indicates that guards and
supervisors violated no procedures during the late December incident that
landed Sweatt in the hospital and his alleged attacker back in court. In
fact, the incident report places blame on a single issue: overcrowding.
“The questionable assignment of Sweatt to a cell occupied by (Orlando
Marcus Holly) was necessitated by overcrowding in D Dorm,” wrote Roger
Hagen, the county’s pointman with CCA. One cell, Hagen reported, was out of
commission because of a broken toilet and guards felt it best to house
Holly and Sweatt in a cell near an observation desk. Holly was accused of a
similar assault two weeks later and forced officials to rethink his daily
handling. Guards now move Holly in full restraint — including a belly chain
and leg restraints — and the 25-year-old is housed alone in a cell.
Authorities reported that Sweatt had asked to be moved from Holly’s cell
but was rebuffed because the dorm and other high-security cells already
were full. The men bickered throughout the day, officials said, and at 1:45
p.m., Holly laid into his cellmate with a flurry of punches and kicks. The
beating was so bad that Sweatt remained in critical condition for more than
two weeks and suffered brain swelling, inner cranial bleeding and a shattered
orbital bone. Police waited 10 days to charge Holly because they feared
Sweatt would die.
January 14, 2006 News
Herald
Emerald Correctional Management LLC has accused the Bay County
Commission of breaking state laws in its decision to pursue negotiations
with another firm for jail construction projects. The process the County
Commission went through in accepting and evaluating the request for
proposals, or RFP, was “arbitrary, capricious and illegal,” states
Emerald’s petition, filed last week with the county. The county wants a
150,000-square-foot jail addition to the existing jail annex on Nehi Road,
creating 680 new beds in addition to the existing 410. The RFP also called
for the downtown Bay County Jail to be demolished and for construction of
new holding cells connected to the Bay County Courthouse. Shreveport,
La.-based Emerald had said it could build the addition for $31.8 million
and Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, priced it
at $38.8 million. The county chose to enter negotiations with CCA. In a
formal notice of protest filed Jan. 6, Emerald alleged that Bay County
violated Florida procurement laws, Sunshine Laws and the RFP terms. The
company requests the county “forward the protest to the Division of
Administrative Hearings for a fair determination of the issue at hand.”
Emerald further labeled CCA, the company currently operating Bay County’s
jails, as “non-qualified, non-responsible and non-responsive.” After taking
into account project features that were either missing from the RFP or
added but not asked for, the county determined Emerald’s design-and-build
cost would be $35.4 million rather than $31.8 million, and CCA’s would be
$36.4 million instead of $38.8 million. County staff said that with
construction and fixed operational cost for six years, it would cost $117.1
million to stick with Emerald and $114 million with CCA.
January 11, 2006 News
Herald
Deputy Public Defender Walter Smith said Tuesday that he has a better
chance of keeping accused cop killer Robert Bailey off death row by being a
witness in the case instead of being Bailey’s lawyer. Smith withdrew from
the case and told Circuit Judge Glenn Hess that he expects to be a witness
when the court has a hearing to determine Bailey’s mental condition. Smith
said he also will look outside the county for a lawyer and put together the
paperwork necessary for Bailey’s new attorney to ask for a change of venue.
Smith said he wants the case handled by a Tallahassee lawyer and decided by
a Leon County jury. A change of venue could move Bailey out of the Bay
County Jail Annex where he has been since August. Smith said Bailey’s
treatment at the jail has aggravated Bailey’s existing mental problems.
“His condition has deteriorated since he’s been in solitary confinement,”
Smith said. “I think his mental state is a direct result of the condition
he’s kept in.” Smith said Bailey is isolated in a small cell with a light
burning 24 hours a day, making it difficult to sleep. The toilet in
Bailey’s small cell would not flush for three months, and a jailer had to
empty it manually during that time. “A Fortune 500 company like Corrections
Corporation of America can’t fix a toilet?” Smith said, referring to the
jail’s corporate owner. “I know what’s going on, and it’s unconscionable.
They’re being punitive.” Bailey complained about the toilet the last time
he was in court and Hess ordered it repaired. Bailey’s last words to the
judge Tuesday were about that issue. “Thanks for fixing my toi …,” Bailey,
who appeared at the hearing by closed-circuit television, said. The last
word was cut off when the connection was cut. Bailey’s mail is intercepted
and his phone calls are monitored. He is not allowed visitors or contact
with other inmates, Smith said. Bailey rarely is allowed to shower and is
almost always shackled and handcuffed, Smith said. “This is not because I
like Robert Bailey and I think he’s a sweet guy,” Smith said of his outrage
over Bailey’s treatment. “It’s because he’s not being afforded his basic
constitutional rights.” The jail’s treatment of Bailey, Smith said, has
made it more difficult to give Bailey a fair trial because it has impacted
his mental state. Smith said Bailey understands the legal process, but he’s
now more likely to act out in an inappropriate, even aggressive, manner in
court.
January 3, 2006 News
Herald
Orlando Marcus Holly waited until the lights were off and his 49-year-old
cellmate was asleep before Holly began kicking him, a Bay County Sheriff's
Office investigator said Monday. Investigator Mitch Pitts also said Holly,
25, probably would have killed Robert Sweatt if not for the swift reactions
of guards at the Bay County Jail Annex. Sweatt's teeth were kicked out, his
orbital bone was shattered and he had inner cranial bleeding. Sweatt was rushed
to Bay Medical Center and is recovering in surgical intensive care, Pitts
said. Court records show that Holly was charged with battery three times in
2005, including a count of battery on an inmate. The day before the alleged
attack on Sweatt, a judge sentenced Holly to more than a year in prison
after Holly admitted to probation violations.
January 2, 2006 News
Herald
Police charged a 25-yearold inmate with severely beating a cellmate 10 days
after two guards witnessed the attack in a dormitory at the Bay County Jail
annex, according to arrest documents. Investigators accused Orlando Marcus
Holly of aggravated battery on a detainee more than a week after the
alleged beating. It was so severe that the 49-yearold cellmate remained in
critical condition in surgical intensive care on Sunday. According to an
arrest affidavit, Robert Sweatt was sleeping on a floor mat Dec. 20 when
Holly began stomping on his face, kicking out Sweatt's teeth, shattering
his orbital bone and causing inner cranial bleeding. Sweatt was rushed to
Bay Medical Center. Two Bay County Jail guards witnessed the attacks,
police reported. It is unclear when Bay County Sheriff's Office
investigators were notified of the attack, and officials from the Bay
County Jail and the Sheriff's Office could not be reached Sunday. Court
records show that Holly was charged with battery three times in 2005,
including a count of battery on an inmate. The day before the alleged
attack on Sweatt, a judge sentenced him to more than a year in prison after
Holly admitted to probation violations.
December 31, 2005 News
Herald
Emerald Correctional Management LLC is formally protesting Bay County's
decision to negotiate with another firm for new jail construction. Steve
Afeman, Emerald's executive vice president, said Friday that his company
would formally send to Bay County a Notice of Protest for choosing on Dec.
20 to negotiate with Corrections Corporation of America to build an
addition to the jail annex on Nehi Road and related projects. Emerald has
requested from the county every document and piece of information relevant
to the RFP, or Request for Proposals. The move has confused Bay County
officials and the Tennessee-based CCA because no bidder has been awarded a
contract. Roger Hagen, contract monitor for the county, said Friday that he
had not received the Notice of Protest from Emerald. Earlier this month,
county staff produced an analysis that reflected the variations in both
firms' proposals. Neither firm adhered precisely to what was asked for in
the RFP, said county spokeswoman Catherine Zehner, so adjustments were made
to "try to level the playing field." Afeman said it appears that
"CCA has adjusted their bid after looking at our" proposal. Hagen
and CCA deny that such action occurred.
December 30, 2005 News
Herald
Emerald Correctional Management LLC still wants the contract for Bay
County's jail projects and has requested extensive documents related to the
county's decision to negotiate with another firm. Steve Afeman, Emerald's
executive vice president, said Tuesday that his company wasn't yet formally
protesting how the county handled the request for proposals, or RFPs.
"We're still looking at the comparison for how they formulated their
bid structure," he said. "We want to leave our options open until
… we feel everything was reported accurately." Afeman is referring to
the county staff's interpretation of Emerald's and Corrections Corporation
of America's RFP responses. As early as today, the Shreveport, La.-based
Emerald may decide whether to file a Notice of Protest of the RFP, Afeman
said. But Emerald's Tallahassee attorney, Obed Dorceus, said in an e-mail
message late last week to county officials that a "formal written
protest will be filed within the time required by law." The attorney
further asks the county to suspend activity regarding the RFP until the
dispute is resolved.
December 21, 2005 News
Herald
Bay County plans to stick with Corrections Corporation of America to run
its jails and build the jail annex addition. At Tuesday's County Commission
meeting at Panama City City Hall, the board voted unanimously to instruct
county staff to negotiate a contract with CCA. The county still reserves
the option to pull out if it does not like the final price CCA delivers for
the project. If a compromise cannot be reached, Commissioner George Gainer
said the board will consider building and operating jail facilities itself.
Besides the jail annex addition on Nehi Road, the county wants the downtown
Bay County Jail demolished and new holding cells connected to the Bay
County Courthouse. Besides Tennessee-based CCA, the only firm that
responded to the request for proposals, or RFP, was Emerald Correctional
Management in Shreveport, La. For the entire scope of services, Emerald
listed its price as $35.4 million. CCA estimated a cost of $41.5 million.
Gainer said he was not comfortable with CCA's price estimate, and he is
concerned because the expanded jail annex could be at or over capacity
several years after its expected opening in spring 2008. "This does not
meet our needs," he said. "A lot needs to take place with the
negotiating team for this to move forward." "We need to think
long and hard" about the contract, he added. "It's going to
affect everyone in Bay County for 50 years." Budget Officer Mary Dayton
said that if CCA funded the design and construction of the jail annex
addition with its 8-percent interest rate over 25 years, the interest alone
would total $56.7 million. She said the county could get an interest rate
of 4.5 to 4.7 percent, and over 25 years, that would total $32.6 million in
interest. Commissioner Mike Thomas asked county staff to analyze what debt
payments would be if the county tried to pay for the project in 18 to 20
years.
December 16, 2005 News
Herald
Emerald Correctional Management LLC says its method for financing jail
expansion will help save the county at least $20 million compared to
Corrections Corporation of America's payment option. But after meetings
with Emerald's staff, at least two County commissioners believe it is better
for the county to finance the project itself because the county has a lower
bond rating than either company could obtain. "That's not going to be
there," Commissioner Mike Thomas said of Emerald's financing plan.
"We can save money doing a bond ourselves," he said, indicating
that the county's bond rating is around 4.5 percent and if either company
funds the project, their bond rating would be 7- to 8-percent. CCA proposes
to fund the expansion itself at a projected cost of $334,476 per month for
25 years, totaling around $100 million. With private bond placement, as
Emerald suggests, the total debt over 18 years would be around $80 million,
or $350,000 per month, said Glenn Hedert, chief operations officer for the
Shreveport, La.-based company. In a letter this week to Commission Chairman
Mike Nelson, CCA stated that Emerald did not adhere to project
specifications in the county's request for proposals, or RFP, and that is
why its plan costs less. "If they were compliant with the RFP, their
proposal would've cost as much as what we projected," said Jennifer
Taylor, senior director of business development for Tennessee-based CCA.
Nelson said Thursday he received the 18-page letter at his office, Mike
Nelson & Associates, but that he threw it away without reading all of
it. "They've already had their say," Nelson said, referring to
Emerald's and CCA's presentations to the commission on Dec. 6. "If
Emerald sends me anything, it's going to get tossed, too."
November 19, 2005 News
Herald
Corrections Corporation of America fired a Bay County Jail Annex nurse for
the way she handled an inmate's complaint of labor pains, according to her
termination letter. Joan Elliot, 48, of Panama City, refused to acknowledge
wrongdoing in the events that lead up to Jennifer Bozeman, 26, giving birth
to a premature baby in the infirmary more than four hours after reporting
labor pains to jail guards, according to CCA records. Bozeman was in jail
at the time for failing to pay a $500 child support fine. CCA reprimanded
nurse Melissa Blalock, 36, for her role in the incident on Nov. 7,
according to CCA records. The names and positions of the employees
receiving disciplinary action were released to The News Herald in
accordance with the state Sunshine Law, but only after a written request to
the Tennessee based company's corporate headquarters and Bay County Jail
Warden Mark Henry denied access to the employees' personnel files.
According to CCA records, Elliot was terminated on Tuesday after CCA
officials determined the nurse failed to follow CCA sick call policy.
Specifically, Elliot failed to "accommodate unscheduled
inmates/residents with conditions that require immediate attention,
including acute illness and injuries," according to her termination
letter. During a follow-up discussion regarding the jail birth, Elliot told
Henry she had done nothing wrong and would not do anything differently if
the same situation arose again, according to CCA reports. Elliot told CCA
officials she was dealing with several medical calls at the time, including
a seizure, two guards bitten by an inmate and several inmates waiting in
the infirmary while Bozeman complained of pains. Jail officials issued a
written reprimand to Blalock, but did not terminate her. They said Blalock
failed to keep Bozeman in a "stable position/location" until the
inmate could be transferred to the hospital. Blalock should not have
allowed the expectant mother to walk in the unit, climb up and down from
the examination table or sit on a bench in the waiting area, according to
CCA reports.
November 16, 2005 News
Herald
One employee has been fired and another reprimanded after an investigation
into a birth at the Bay County Jail annex revealed a series of missteps -
from a nurse who ignored cries for help to a supervisor unaware of the
labor - that preceded a delivery in the infirmary. Jail officials would not
reveal the names or positions of the employees who received disciplinary
action, and a Sunshine Law request made Tuesday afternoon was not
immediately answered. Florida's public records statutes routinely cover
discipline reports of public employees, including jail guards and nurses.
"I can only talk in general terms," Warden Mark Henry said
Tuesday afternoon. "We have to be cognizant of other people's rights.
These two employees have been disciplined and it has become part of their
official records. But that is proprietary information kept by the
company." Jennifer Bozeman said she complained of labor pains for more
than four hours before she was taken to the infirmary and seen by a nurse.
Bozeman said fellow inmates helped her through the ordeal, nursing her
while jail staff ignored her pleas for help. Bozeman's daughter, Crystal,
was born just before 7 a.m. and was airlifted to Gainesville's Shands
Hospital. The baby remained there on Tuesday, where she is being treated
for birth defects. Bozeman was jailed Sept. 10 for failing to pay a $500
child support fine, although the fine was paid late Monday night by a
friend. While the names and positions of the disciplined employees have not
been released, CCA officials did divulge a 32-page report that documented
mistakes and policy violations the night of Bozeman's labor. Among them:
Nurse Joan Elliott was informed of the labor pains at about 2:30 a.m., and
told guards to have Bozeman fill out a "sick call," a written
documentation of an inmate's illness. The slip was not given to medical
staff until 4:30 a.m. When a female guard handed the slip to Elliott, the
nurse said "it could wait." Elliott, in a written statement,
indicates that on Monday night she dealt with several medical calls,
including: a seizure, two guards who had been bitten and scratched, an
inmate with scratches, and a number of inmates waiting in the infirmary.
Elliott later retrieved sick calls and treated at least two other sick
patients before she received word from guards that Bozeman was having
"stomach pains." It was not until 6 a.m., Elliott wrote, that a
guard told the infirmary nurses that Bozeman was in labor. Capt. Richard
Bouchard, who worked the overnight shift, responded at least eight times to
the dorm where Bozeman was held and was never notified by a pair of guards
that there was a pregnant inmate complaining of labor pains. Bouchard also
said "nor was there any documentation in the post log book that the
(labor pains were) addressed." By the time Bouchard was notified,
Bozeman already had been escorted to the medical unit. Jail personnel
waited more than 25 minutes to call an ambulance after a nurse determined
Bozeman was indeed in labor. The child was born before officials contacted
paramedics to take her to Bay Medical Center. At about 6:05 a.m., a guard
told nurse Melissa Blalock, who was starting her shift, that Bozeman was in
labor, and Blalock ordered the woman to be brought to the infirmary.
Blalock and Elliott then checked Bozeman for delivery symptoms and
determined at 6:30 a.m. that she was in labor. Bozeman was sitting in an
infirmary restroom when Blalock assisted her to an exam table, although
Bozeman was sent back to a waiting room and Elliott ended her shift. At
about 6:55 a.m., Bozeman screamed for help and the child was delivered
before Blalock could remove Bozeman's pants. Blalock removed the umbilical
cord from around the child's neck, ordered a guard to call 9-1-1 and helped
cover the child in blankets. Paramedics arrived at the jail at 7:15 a.m.
and the child was taken to the hospital at 7:20 a.m. - nearly five hours
after Bozeman first told guards she was in labor.
November 15, 2005 News
Herald
She was in labor for more than four hours, crying in a crowded dorm room,
bent and writhing on a bunk, crooked with pain and sweat and gritted teeth,
pleading for help. When help finally came, so too did her child. The
26-year-old woman who gave birth in the Bay County Jail annex said Monday
that guards and nurses repeatedly ignored her pleas for medical attention,
allowing her to struggle for four hours - using inmates as nursemaids -
before the baby was born in the infirmary. While jail officials have hedged
against the release of information related to a personnel investigation,
Jennifer Bozeman offered sharp criticism of the annex and its medical
staff, saying Monday that officials failed both mother and child.
"They just ignored me," Bozeman said in an interview with The
News Herald. "They should have gotten me to the hospital. I kept
telling them: 'It hurts, I'm in labor.' They didn't do anything. It was
just handled wrong. I'm still hurt by it. I'm still having
flashbacks." Bozeman's account was confirmed by two female inmates who
stood by her throughout the labor, as both women said that it took more
than four hours before the expectant mother was transferred to a medical
pod at the Nehi Road annex. The inmates both issued stinging rebukes of the
jail staff, calling the situation untenable but believable. In fact, Charla
Meadows, 33, said medical attention is hard to come by at the facility - if
it comes at all. "It's crazy in here," said Meadows, being held
on a cocaine charge. "Jennifer told them at about 2 o'clock that she
was hurting bad. I mean, you could see her all bent over. One of the guards
asked me if could get her some ice, so I did. I just had to stay with her.
She started hurting worse and worse, and nobody would do anything to help
her." According to all three women, the incident unraveled like this:
Bozeman first told an officer that she may be in labor shortly after 2 a.m.
The officer asked Meadows to deliver some ice, and later allowed Bozeman to
take a warm shower. As the pain progressed, Meadows continued to ask for medical
help. An officer tried unsuccessfully to contact the overnight nurse, and
at about 4 a.m. guards told Bozeman to fill out a "sick call."
The "sick call" is a form used to notify personnel of medical
problems, although Bozeman said the form went unheeded for an additional
two hours. During that period, another inmate - Tris Souza, 43 - sat with
Bozeman, massaging her back and rubbing her forehead. As the pain reached
its zenith, Souza began pounding on a cell window, pleading for help.
"We were just trying to get their attention," said Souza, also
being held on drug charges. "She just kept getting worse and worse,
and I was like: 'When are y'all going to help her?' They just kept ignoring
us. That's not so uncommon in here, though. "I've seen things that are
totally unbelievable. They think ibuprofen will cure anything." About
6 a.m. - with a shift change - the daytime nurse ordered guards to have
Bozeman delivered to the infirmary. Once there, Bozeman said medical
personnel diagnosed her condition as kidney stones and allowed her to wait
in a chair. The baby, Crystal, was born within minutes. "I had to
catch my own baby," Bozeman said. "It fell out into her
pants," Meadows added. Officials from Corrections Corporation of
America, the private, Tennessee-based company hired to run a pair of
facilities in Bay County, have hesitated to release details of an internal
evaluation. Warden Mark Henry cited medical privacy laws last week and
declined to release information, although he did note that the annex was at
full staff during the incident. Roger Hagen, the county's jail contract
monitor, said he is awaiting information from CCA, and said the timeframe
between Bozeman's first complaint and the birth appears to be a key factor
in the evaluation. "That's my concern," Hagen said Monday.
"There is, however, some question of whether the midnight nurse had
competing priorities. The length of time it took the nurse to see her is a
concern, but I'm waiting to see what this person was up against. Were there
other things going on that prevented (the nurse) from seeing
(Bozeman)?" Bozeman's delivery came about two months early, and the
child remained in a neonatal care unit at Gainesville's Shands Hospital on
Monday. The baby was born with birth defects, Bozeman said, and the family
is concerned about her health. Bozeman has been jailed since Sept. 10 for
failing to pay a $500 fine related to a previous adoption. Since then,
county taxpayers have paid nearly $3,000 - or about $45 per day - to keep
Bozeman behind bars. "I'm still so upset," she said. "I'm
still so hurt by it. It was just handled wrong. They should have gotten me
to the hospital."
November 11, 2005 News
Herald
Jennifer Bozeman owes the state of Florida $500. She never paid, got sent
to jail, birthed a baby in the infirmary, and now Bay County taxpayers are
footing the bill - to the tune of about $2,730 so far. And she has not been
charged with a crime. By holding Bozeman in jail, taxpayers have vastly
outspent her debt to the state Department of Revenue regarding a child
support fee for a previously adopted child. The county pays about $44 per
day per prisoner. The new mom has been in jail for 62 days and has 28 to
go. If she stays in jail the full 90 days, it will cost taxpayers about
$3,960. That does not include her hospital costs, which the county could be
billed for. Bozeman, 26, was back Thursday at the Bay County Jail annex,
where she gave birth early Monday to a 5-pound, 8-ounce daughter in an
infirmary. The birth is the subject of a personnel investigation into
several questions, including, according to the county's jail manager and
the Bozeman's mother: How long did officials wait to give Bozeman medical
treatment? In a brief phone interview earlier this week, Bozeman said she
told a jail guard that she was suffering the pangs of labor just after 2
a.m. Bozeman's mother, Doris Ayers, said the baby was born between 7 p.m.
and 7:30 p.m. Officials from Corrections Corporation of America, the
private, Tennessee-based company that was paid $14 million in 2005 to run
two Bay County facilities, have repeatedly hedged against releasing
documents related to the birth. Warden Mark Henry said Thursday he could
not speak to specifics of the case, citing medical privacy issues that
hinder the release of Bozeman's information. Bozeman could not be reached
in jail Thursday for a waiver. The News Herald has requested documents
related to staff levels and medical procedures the morning that Bozeman
gave birth. "At this point," Henry said, "there isn't a whole
lot I can tell you. I wish I could, but I can't do it without violating her
rights. Even as an inmate, people still enjoy rights and privileges that I
would not want to violate." One of those rights, Ayers said, would be
a proper birth. "It's just absurd," she said, "that it
happened like this. No one should have to catch their own baby."
November 9, 2005 News
Herald
The last of four men accused of taking hostages last year in a jail
standoff will not go to trial next week as planned. Instead, Kevin Winslett
will be evaluated for his mental competency to stand trial. Bay County
Sheriff's Office investigators said Winslett, 33, Kevin Nix, James Norton
and Matthew Coffin took over the fourth floor of the Bay County Jail on
Sept. 5 and 6, 2004, and held jail nurses hostage in a police standoff. The
standoff ended when deputies shot one of the men and a nurse.
November 9, 2005 News
Herald
Bay County Jail officials have launched a "full-fledged
investigation" of personnel at the Nehi Road annex after a pregnant
prisoner repeatedly called for medical attention hours before she gave
birth in the infirmary early Monday morning, according to the county's jail
liaison. Conflicting reports have emerged about the birth of a 5-pound,
8-ounce baby girl named "Crystal," who was born at least one
month premature and was expected to be taken Tuesday to a neonatal facility
at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The baby's mother, Jennifer Bozeman, was
recovering Tuesday afternoon at Bay Medical Center, where she was under
watch by authorities and was expected to return soon to jail. "I don't
know what happened really," Bozeman said. "I went into labor
early Monday and I told one of the (corrections officers), but they didn't
really do anything. They were supposed to get me down to the infirmary, but
they didn't." According to Bozeman's mother, Doris Ayers, jail
officials have been evasive, releasing scant information about Jennifer,
the baby or the birth. Ayers said the birth announcement came from the lips
of a fellow prisoner during a mysterious phone call early Monday morning.
"(The warden) is not saying a whole lot," Ayers said Tuesday.
"You know, they actually told (Bozeman) that she had a kidney stone.
That's what they said was bothering her. … She told them she was having labor
pains, and she told me that by the time somebody came to get her, she had
to catch the baby. "That's exactly what she told me - that she
actually had to catch her own baby." Officials offered a slightly
different account, although Roger Hagen, who monitors the county's contract
with the private company hired to run the downtown jail and Nehi Road
annex, said Tuesday that early indications show a procedural breakdown
among personnel. "That's my understanding," Hagen said.
"There is an indication that there were some problems in the way it
was handled. The warden is conducting a full-fledged investigation. Right
now, he's doing a personnel evaluation to find out what happened."
Henry is the third Bay County Jail warden in 22 months, and was hired in
September by Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America, the
private company that holds a contract to run three county facilities.
Henry, who last worked at the Jackson County Jail and spent nearly 30 years
in the federal prison system, took over after the former warden quit and an
assistant warden was fired.
October 1, 2005 News
Herald
A man convicted of DUI manslaughter and an accused killer face additional
criminal charges after attacking guards at the Bay County Jail on Friday,
according to court records. William Deshonn Jones, 25, and Lashod Marquis
Black, 21, each face a charge of battery on a corrections officer following
separate incidents at the county's main jail. According to court records,
at about noon, Jones became upset at a jail guard and threw two trays of food
at the guard's chest. Jones' outburst came a little over an hour after a
guard accused Black of grabbing her arm during a cell inspection, according
to court records.
September 21, 2005
News Herald
Kevin Winslett should be ready for a new trial in November. Winslett, the
accused ringleader of a takeover of the Bay County Jail last September,
went to trial in August with his three co-defendants, but his case was
declared a mistrial. Co-defendants Kevin Nix, Matthew Coffin and James
Norton were convicted of false imprisonment and sentenced to 15 years in
prison. They went to trial on the same charges that Winslett faces, but
were acquitted of the most serious charges against them.
September 20, 2005 New-Herald
Lucrative contracts to operators of Bay County facilities and a $5 million
increase in funds for blighted communities contribute to the county’s
budget increase for fiscal year 2006. Operating costs for the two
county-owned jails is projected to rise $2 million, to $16.3 million for FY
2006. That’s despite a decrease in the inmate population from about 1,100
last year to 900 currently, according to Roger Hagen, Bay County
correctional program manager. Usually, there are 3 percent to 4 percent
more inmates each year. There are fewer inmates now because those nabbed by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials no longer are being housed in
the Jail Annex. The operations cost per prisoner is expected to be $45.35
in FY 2006, about $1 more than it is now, said County Budget Officer Mary
Dayton. Corrections Corporation of America runs the jails, but its contract
expires next year. The county is looking to cut back on the amount it pays
the contractor, whomever is selected. Emerald Correctional Management
Corporation, based in Shreveport, La., also is bidding to operate the jail.
“I feel like the CCA contract has been far too lucrative,” Gainer said. “If
we don’t have a bid that’s much lower, then the county ought to consider
running it by ourselves.”
September 13, 2005 News Herald
For the third time in 22 months, the Bay County Jail has a new warden.
Corrections Corporation of America officials have hired Jackson County’s
corrections chief to run the beleaguered Panama City Jail after the former
warden quit and an assistant warden was fired less than a month ago. Mark
A. Henry, who last worked at the Jackson County Jail and spent nearly 30
years in the federal prison system, is expected to start next week,
according to Bay County’s jail contract monitor. Roger Hagen, who acts as a liaison between
Bay County commissioners and the private company hired to run three local
facilities, said commissioners signed off on the hire after CCA officials
tabbed Henry sometime last week. The hire came shortly after
the dismissal of Assistant Warden John Rochefort for violating an
undisclosed company policy and Warden Kevin Watson asked for a transfer for
“personal reasons,” CCA officials said in mid-August. The company declined
to give the exact reason Rochefort was fired, nor would they say in what
capacity Watson would be retained. CCA officials did not return phone calls
Tuesday.
September 12, 2005 News Herald
Strategy is a part of any trial. But when four men accused of taking
hostages in a police standoff at the Bay County Jail were preparing to go
to trial together, strategies were everywhere. The Bay County Sheriff’s
Office had a plan to keep the four from attempting anything in the
courthouse like what they were accused of doing at the jail. Prosecutors
had their reasons for trying all four together, despite the security risks.
And the four defense attorneys had the job of devising an attack that would
work for their individual client, but not hurt the other three. Coffin’s lawyer, Nancy Jones Gaglio, said
there was an agreement going into trial that their clients would not try to
blame each other for the takeover. Gaglio was able to address
issues about jail conditions. “Judge allowed me to go there a little bit,”
she said Wednesday. “But part of my defense was it was just a chaotic place
and (jail operator Corrections Corporation of America) certainly wasn’t
taking care of and running the place properly. I was trying to show that
what happened was a direct result of CCA’s negligent maintenance.”
September 7, 2005 News Herald
Kevin Nix and Kathy Baucum share the same nightmare. Nix is one of
three men convicted of falsely holding three jail nurses, including Baucum,
against their will in a September 2004 takeover of the third floor of the
Bay County Jail. The inmates were convicted last week of false
imprisonment. On Tuesday, Circuit
Judge Michael Overstreet sentenced Nix, 29, and co-defendants Matthew
Coffin, 20, and James Norton, 32, to 15 years in prison each, to begin
after their current prison sentences expire. That basically means that
Norton will spend the next 16 years in prison, Nix 28 years, and Coffin 24.
September 2, 2005 News Herald
Three Bay County Jail inmates who held nurses prisoner last September
during a jail takeover were acquitted Thursday of the most serious charges
against them. Jurors acquitted Kevin Nix, James Norton and Matthew Coffin
of kidnapping, aggravated assault and escape. Instead, they each were
convicted of three counts of false imprisonment. In addition, Nix was
convicted of attempted aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and Norton
of simple assault. The three were facing up to life in prison on the
kidnapping charges, but could now see greatly reduced time. False
imprisonment is a third-degree felony punishable by five years in
prison. Specifically, Nix, 29,
Norton, 32, and Coffin, 20, were convicted of illegally holding jail nurses
Glenda Baker, Kathy Baucum and Amie Hunt against their wills during a
12-hour standoff with deputies Sept. 5 and 6. They were acquitted of any
charges involving former jail guard James Hall, who was kept in a cell for
two hours before being released in exchange for pizzas and cigarettes.
September 1, 2005 News Herald
A September standoff at the Bay County Jail ended in gunshots, but
testimony in the case ended on Wednesday without the smoking gun. Circuit
Judge Michael Overstreet ruled that testimony about gunshots from a hostage
negotiator and SWAT team that wounded an inmate and a hostage were
irrelevant to the charges against Matthew Coffin, Kevin Nix and James
Norton. The three men began trial this week on charges of kidnapping,
escape and aggravated assault. They are accused of participating in a takeover
of the jail’s third floor on Sept. 5 and 6 and face life in prison if
convicted as charged. Ann Marie “Amie” Hunt told jurors that the takeover
went from a kind of “nutty” situation to a dangerous one as the night
progressed. “At the very beginning,”
she said, choosing her words carefully, “they were a little nutty. They
just wanted to find a way out. They were as polite as they could be for the
situation we were in.” Then, Hunt said, the inmates broke into the drug
storage lockers and began ingesting narcotics. As the night progressed, she
said, Nix became agitated with nurse Glenda Baker’s praying. Another nurse,
Kathy Baucum, said Baker was constantly praying and also “speaking in
tongues.” When it came time to offer a hostage in return for pizza and
cigarettes, Nix insisted Baker go because she was “freaking him out,” Hunt
said. Hunt said an inmate told her she might end up as “collateral damage”
when officers stormed the jail. The standoff ended, Hunt said, when she was
brought before a barred gate at the end of a hall. Nix, she said, was
standing behind her with a scalpel to her throat. “I don’t know who shot
me,” she said. “He was just a figure, a person standing there, then, boom.
I looked down, and I got shot. Then, boom, and I got shot again.” One bullet shattered her knee, an injury
that incapacitated her for months. Hunt was able to walk into court and
take the witness stand with the help of a cane.
August 27, 2005 News Herald
Kevin Winslett got a mistrial. Kevin Nix stuck a pen up his nose. The first
day of trial for four men accused of taking hostages in a jail standoff in
September got off to an interesting start Tuesday. Testimony in the trial
of the remaining three defendants will resume today. Winslett, Nix, James
Norton and Matthew Coffin began trial on charges of kidnapping, aggravated
assault and escape. They are accused of holding four people hostage during
an attempted escape Sept. 5 and 6 at the Bay County Jail. The standoff
ended with gunfire that wounded two of the men and a jail nurse. All four
face up to life in prison if convicted as charged. The first prosecution
witness Tuesday was James Hall, a former jail guard and one of the four
allegedly held hostage. He said he was the only guard working the jail’s
third floor the night of Sept. 5, with 80 inmates to watch. Hall said he
opened a cell during “pill call,” when medications are dispensed, to check
on an inmate who did not respond to him. Hall said while he was in the
cell, he was hit twice from behind and knocked to the ground. Initially in
his testimony, Hall said it was Norton who hit him. Hall changed that later
and said he did not know who hit him, only that Norton was the closest to
him when he looked up from the ground. Hall said he first told jail
administrators that he had been knocked unconscious and during that time
his keys and radio were taken. Months later, when being interviewed by the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, he changed that, saying he was not
unconscious but told jail officials that to try to save his job. Hall also
said inmates ripped his uniform shirt before releasing him to make it look
like he had put up a struggle. Hall was fired from the jail for several
policy violations stemming from the incident on the third floor. Former
jail nurse Glenda Baker told jurors she was working her first full day at
the jail on Sept. 5. Baker said she never actually was threatened during
the incident but felt threatened. “You said you felt like you couldn’t
leave,” Chris Patterson said to Baker during cross-examination. “Did you
ever ask?” Baker thought about it for a minute and said, “I don’t
remember.” Prosecutors decided to try the four together, a rare strategy,
that made for extraordinary security as well as legal complications.
Tuesday morning began with prosecutor Quentin Broxton’s opening statement.
He described the takeover as an elaborate escape attempt that backfired.
Winslett’s attorney, Doug White, then began to lay out his defense for
jurors. He said this would be a case of perspective in which jurors may
have a hard time understanding the thinking of those behind bars. “If we’ve
never been jailed, can we still understand the context of a prisoner?”
White asked. “Can a deaf person appreciate a classic symphony?” Fellow
defense attorney Nancy Jones told jurors in her opening statement that
conditions at the jail were “horrible” and “horrendous.” “Conditions in
that jail were so bad they made one’s toes curl,” she said. White said the
four men’s actions on Sept. 5 were to bring attention to jail conditions,
but were not well thought out. “These four young men acted out in ways that
were not brilliant,” he said. “They were not smart. And in some cases, they
were downright dumb.” White then said that Winslett’s conception of reality
also may be skewed by a diagnosed mental disorder. Prosecutor Bill Lewis
objected. The defense lawyers, prosecutors and Circuit Judge Michael
Overstreet left the room to discuss the objection. A part of White’s
defense was that Winslett has a “mental defect” that would affect his ability
to form the necessary intent to have committed the crimes. White denied
that it was an insanity defense and refrained from calling it a “mental
health” defense. Lewis argued that any mental health defense requires a
notice to the prosecution that would give the state an opportunity to
prepare witnesses and have the defendant evaluated. White argued that a
notice was required only if he was pursuing an insanity defense. Overstreet
found that a notice was required in this case and prevented White from
pursuing that aspect of his defense. White asked for — and Overstreet
granted him — a mistrial so White can file his notice and prepare for
another trial. While the lawyers and judge were out of the room discussing
Winslett’s case, Nix, who was one of the defendants sitting closest to the
jury, started playing with a blue Sharpie felt-tip pen. He took off the
cap, sniffed the tip, put the tip in his mouth and chewed on it, then spit
a piece of it onto the table. He then put the tip up his nose. When Nix’s lawyer,
Mike Hunter, returned to the courtroom, he found Nix with blue lines on his
nose, lips and hands. Hunter asked for a continuance, saying he needed to
have his client evaluated for his mental competency to continue. Hunter
said Nix told him that in times of stress, fear or anger Nix “loses time”
or blanks out. Hunter said Nix did not know what he had done in court.
Overstreet asked two psychologists to interview Nix from noon to 2:30 p.m.
to give their best assessment of his mental ability to continue with the
trial. Nix then was found competent to proceed. “Putting a pen up your nose
isn’t really consistent with a mental disorder,” Dr. David Smith told
Overstreet.
August 18, 2005 News Herald
Less than eight months after taking over as warden, the head of the Bay
County Jail has resigned, according to a Corrections Corporation of America
spokesman Wednesday. Kevin Watson submitted a letter to CCA officials
Tuesday requesting a demotion and transfer for “personal reasons,” said
Steve Owens, spokesman for the Nashville-based company contracted by the
county to manage the downtown jail and annex. Watson’s resignation came the
same day CCA fired John Rochefort from his position as an assistant warden
for violating CCA policies, Owens said. Owens and Jennifer Taylor, CCA’s
senior director for business development, said Watson’s decision to step
down and Rochefort’s termination are not related. Taylor said Watson flew
to Nashville on Tuesday to deliver a letter to CCA officials requesting the
change of position. CCA has not determined what position Watson will fill
with the company and he has taken an indefinite leave of absence, she said.
Roger Hagen, the contract monitor for Bay County, said Wednesday that
Rochefort was terminated for “performancerelated issues.” Hagen said he was
aware Watson had requested vacation time and may not return as warden. Both
facilities have been subject to increased scrutiny in recent weeks because
of a foiled escape attempt by a suspected cop killer from the downtown jail
and a sex scandal at the annex involving a prison guard, a nurse and an
inmate.
August 11, 2005 WNYT
A man awaiting trial on charges stemming from the September hostage-taking
at the Bay County Jail faces new charges after guards said he tried to
smuggle a razor blade into the jail. The Bay County Sheriff’s Office
charged 32-year-old James Richard Norton with introduction of contraband
into a detention facility Wednesday.
August 10, 2005 News Herald
Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigators and jail officials are trying to
determine how an accused cop killer came within a few days of escaping from
the sixth floor of the county’s downtown jail. Robert Bailey, 23, of
Milwaukee, Wis., is accused of attempted escape and introduction of
contraband to a detention facility after jail guards and Sheriff’s Office
investigators searched his cell Monday evening and found hacksaw blades and
evidence that Bailey was trying to cut his way out of the cell’s windows,
according to a Sheriff’s Office report. The search of Bailey’s jail cell
came after U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents contacted the
Sheriff’s Office on Monday afternoon to report they had learned during an
investigation that Bailey was planning a jailbreak, said Capt. Jimmy
Stanford, head of the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation
Division. After pulling Bailey from
his cell, located in a maximum security pod on the jail’s sixth floor,
investigators said they discovered about seven hacksaw blades in the
toilet, hidden under Bailey’s bed and stashed in a cutout and patched
section of the ceiling. Investigators also reported finding bolts sliced in
metal grates covering windows and cuts in a metal divider between the two
windows. The grates placed over the 6-inch-wide Plexiglas windows are
bolted into the window frame at the bottom and top. The top bolts had not
been sawed through, investigators said. With Bailey remaining behind bars,
investigators and jail officials are turning their attention to how the
inmate was able to obtain the hacksaw blades and how his planned escape
attempt went unnoticed, Stanford said. Because Bailey’s status as a “high-risk” inmate prevented him
from having direct contact with visitors, investigators have not ruled out
that a guard or fellow inmate may have supplied Bailey with the hacksaw
blades, Stanford said.
July 20, 2005 News Herald
Four men accused of taking hostages in a Bay County Jail standoff last year
have been scheduled for trial the last week of August. It is
unlikely, however, that the four will be tried together. James
Norton, Kevin Winslett, Matthew Coffin and Kevin Nix are accused of holding
nurses hostage during a jail standoff Sept. 5 and 6. All four are facing
kidnapping charges that could land them in prison for life.
July 18, 2005 News Herald
A married jail nurse was arrested late Saturday and accused of having sex
with a female inmate on an examining table in the Bay County Jail annex,
leading to a felony count that was vehemently denied Sunday by the man's
wife. Authorities charged Christopher Michael Byrd, 33, with sexual
misconduct between a detention facility employee and an inmate, a
third-degree felony that could land the licensed practicing nurse in jail
for five years. According to a Bay County Sheriff's Office arrest
affidavit: Byrd asked a guard to release a female inmate to the medical
unit sometime Saturday night. Byrd told the guard that he had permission
from a supervisor to allow the inmate to walk to the medical pod without a
runner. In jail lingo, a "runner" is an escort generally used to
accompany inmates between units in a facility. Once the woman arrived in
the medical unit, Byrd told her to go to an examination room. Inside, they
began canoodling before the woman dropped her pants and the pair had sex on
a table. It is unclear how authorities discovered the alleged intercourse.
The charge against Byrd is part of a state law passed four years ago.
Legislators passed in 2001 the "Protection Against Sexual Violence in
Florida Jails and Prisons Act" as a measure to prevent misconduct
between jailers and inmates in detention facilities. The act contains a
provision that says consent cannot be used as a defense during prosecution.
June 16, 2005 AP
A state investigation has confirmed that a Bay County Jail inmate committed
suicide in a shower room and found no evidence officials or other prisoners
knew he planned to kill himself. A summary of the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement investigation into the April 5 death of James T. Sly Jr., 35,
of nearby Springfield, was released Wednesday. Sly was found hanging by a
bedsheet from a shower head. The summary does not address whether guards
followed proper procedures before the death. A May report from Bay County's
jail contract monitor alleged that a jailer included Sly in midnight head
count without actually seeing him, assuming the inmate was there because
water could be heard running in the shower. Company officials said they are
waiting to review the full state investigation report before commenting on
county allegation or the guard's status.
May 20, 2005 News Herald
Corrections Corporation of America officials remain silent about a report
issued by the county’s jail program manager stating a corrections officer
did not properly account for an inmate later found dead from an apparent
suicide. However, the family of James T. Sly Jr. has not stopped demanding
answers from the company contracted to oversee the Bay County Jail. They
want to know why the 35-year-old jail inmate was able to hang himself while
under the control of CCA. According to a recently released report by Bay
County’s contract monitor, Roger Hagen, a jail guard identified as J.
Harris "counted" James Sly as part of a midnight shift head count
without seeing the inmate. The report states the guard "assumed"
James Sly was in the shower because the shower water was running. Harris
failed to follow CCA’s policy that requires guards to only count an inmate
after seeing the person’s "living, breathing flesh," according to
Hagen. Hagen’s report conflicts with previous statements made by the jail’s
warden, Kevin Watson, who in April told The News Herald that a preliminary
investigation suggested that no CCA policies or procedures were violated
concerning James Sly’s death. Watson also said no CCA employees had been
reprimanded because of the incident. In his report, Hagen called on CCA to "take appropriate
disciplinary action" against the officer and "provide special
training for all officers" on the counting procedures. On
Thursday, Watson declined to comment further on James Sly’s death pending
the outcome of the FDLE investigation. He also declined to comment on
Harris’ status with CCA. A report from the FDLE is expected to be completed
within the next two weeks.
May 17, 2005 News Herald
The correctional officer responsible for checking on inmate James T. Sly
during the early morning shift on April 5 was supposed to see him "in
the flesh." He did not, and that night Sly apparently hanged himself
in the inmate showers. The death is still being investigated by the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement. However, an incident review by Roger Hagen,
Bay County’s correctional program manager, found that the Corrections
Corporation of America policies were not followed on the night Sly died.
The fact Officer J. Harris did not physically see Sly when he was doing
rounds is a violation of CCA’s policy "Count Principles and
Procedures," Hagen says in the report, which was forwarded to the
County Commission May 10. That finding counters Warden Kevin Watson’s
preliminary investigation last month, which suggested that all CCA policies
or procedures were followed on the night Sly died.
April 22, 2005 News-Herald
The Florida Ethics Commission found former Bay County commissioner
Danny Sparks in violation of a gifts law Thursday. On terms he agreed to,
he will pay a $1,000 civil penalty and admit fault. Kerrie Stillman,
assistant to the executive director of the Ethics Commission, said that an
attorney for Sparks met with an Ethics Commission advocate and they both
approved a settlement agreement. This includes paying $1,000 "with
public censure and reprimand." The ethics board will submit a final
order of the case to the governor’s office on Tuesday. Gov. Jeb Bush will
review it and issue an executive order stating the findings. He has the
authority to impose the fine, Stillman said. Sparks, contacted at home
Thursday, said he was unaware of any settlement or ruling regarding his
case. He said he wouldn’t comment on it, anyway. Sparks is accused of
breaching Florida ethics law during a trip he and other county officials
took in February 2000 to Tennessee to visit a jail run by Corrections
Corporation of America, which also operates Bay County’s jail and annex. He
participated with others in a round of golf — valued at $240 per person —
paid for by county financial adviser Gary Akers. Florida ethics laws
prohibit public officials and employees from accepting any gift worth $100
or more from a lobbyist. In July 2003, the Florida Police Benevolent
Association filed complaints with the Ethics Commission against Sparks and
two other former county commissioners, Carol Atkinson and Richard Stewart,
as well as former county manager Jon Mantay, former county attorney Nevin
Zimmerman, and Bob Majka, county emergency services director. Public
hearings on the charges would have been held if Sparks didn’t settle his
case. His ethics violation admission frees the county from paying his
attorney fees, said Commission Chairman George Gainer. In March, the County
Commission agreed to pay for the fees of all parties being investigated for
ethics complaints if they were eventually exonerated. Sparks’ case is the
only to be resolved to date.
April 13, 2005 News Herald
A week after apparently hanging himself in a Bay County Jail shower, James
T. Sly was laid to rest Tuesday in a Panama City cemetery. Special agents
with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have not released the
results of their investigation into the death of the 35-year-old
Springfield man, said FDLE spokeswoman Lisa Lagergren. Sly, a father of six
children, was found dead in a fifth-floor shower room early April 5 by
corrections officers, according to jail officials. Jail officials said
because of Sly’s suicidal tendencies at the time of his arrest, he was
placed in an observation unit of the jail and interviewed at least five
times by a mental health counselor. Jail officials said counselors in
February approved Sly’s move into a general population pod where he
continued to receive treatment. Jail officials said Sly did not display
signs that he wanted to hurt himself and guards had no reason to believe
something was wrong when Sly requested to take a shower at about 2 a.m. on
April 5.
April 9, 2005 News-Herald
A Bay County Jail corrections officer faces battery charges following an
investigation into a fight between the guard and an inmate earlier this
week. Corrections Corporation of America fired Grant Cox, 35, of
Panama City on Friday following an internal investigation of a Wednesday
evening melee involving Cox and 19-year-old Skylar Jones, said Warden Kevin
Watson. The incident occurred moments after a jury announced it could not
reach a verdict in Jones’ attempted first-degree murder trial. Watson said
Cox violated Tennessee-based CCA’s policy by striking Jones during a
"verbal altercation" in the jail’s elevator. Watson said Cox
allowed the inmate to "push his buttons." "That was
certainly not the right thing to do," Watson said. Jones said the two
men exchanged profanities in the elevator and said the argument became so
heated that Cox grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground. He
would not provide details on the argument. "He put his knee into my chest and said he was going
to" hurt me, Jones said. Jones said he was not handcuffed at the time.
Jones said Cox got off of him when the elevator doors opened but rushed at
him as Jones started walking out of the elevator. Jones said the guard
knocked him into the trash can. Three other CCA guards noticed the fight
and rushed to assist Cox, Jones said. After his termination, Cox was cited
on the misdemeanor charge and released without posting bond.
April 5, 2005 News-Herald
About three months after police thwarted a Springfield man’s attempt to
kill himself on the DuPont Bridge, the 35-year-old was found dead inside
the Bay County Jail on Tuesday morning. Jail officials said James T. Sly
hanged himself at about 2:40 a.m. in the shower room of his fifth floor
housing unit. Because of the attempt to kill himself in January, Sly
originally was placed in an observation unit of the jail and interviewed at
least five times by a mental heath counselor, Thore said. About a month
later, Sly was allowed to move into a general population pod on the fifth
floor of the downtown jail and continued to receive treatment, Thore said.
At about 2 a.m. on Tuesday, guards conducting a head count listed Sly as
being in the housing unit’s shower area, Thore said. When guards returned
about 30 minutes later to conduct another count, Sly’s cellmate said Sly
still was in the shower, Thore said.
March 14, 2005 News-Herald
You can turn a Styrofoam cup inside out and still drink from it. Several
years ago, an inmate at the Bay County Jail asked then-corrections officer
Kevin Watson if he was aware of this interesting fact. "I said
something like I didn’t think he could do it, but he took that cup he had
and carefully worked it with his hands until it was turned inside
out," Watson said. Having successfully completed the task, the inmate
asked Watson: "Do you know what the moral of this story is?"
"What’s that?" Watson responded. I have nothing but time,"
the inmate said. That is just one of many lessons Watson said he has used
to guide him through 18 years in corrections and his first three months as
the Bay County Jail’s warden. "He was right," Watson said of the
inmate’s message. "These guys have nothing but time." During a
recent interview with The News Herald, Watson explained how he has wasted
little time making his mark on the aging facility and a staff trying to
recover from repeated criticism by the press and the community. The newest warden
for Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America’s Bay County
facility has literally "cleaned house" since taking over the
reigns from former Warden Denny Durbin.
March 2, 2005 News Herald
Bay County will reimburse former county officials for attorney’s fees paid
to defend themselves against investigations of ethics violations. On
Tuesday, the Bay County Commission voted 5-0 in favor of reimbursing five
people: former Commissioners Carol Atkinson, Richard Stewart and Danny
Sparks; former County Manager Jon Mantay; and former County Attorney Nevin
Zimmerman. Commission Chairman George Gainer emphasized that the
board will reimburse only the fees that pertain to the officials’ defense
of taking a trip to Nashville, Tenn., in February 2000 to tour a jail
operated by Corrections Corporation of America. The reimbursements also are
contingent on the former county officials’ exoneration. During the
trip, at least one of the county officials, former Commissioner Danny
Sparks, played a $240 round of golf paid for by county financial adviser
Gary Akers. CCA paid for county officials’ flights to Nashville,
which The Florida Commission on Ethics found problem- atic because the
county should have footed the initial expense for the trip, said county attorney
Mike Burke. It would have been permissible, he said, for the county to
collect reimbursement from CCA afterward. Bay County was negotiating
a contract renewal with CCA at the time. The Florida Police Benevolent
Association, a union representing police and correctional officers, filed
the ethics complaints. The golf game was not part of PBA’s original
complaint. Instead, the complaint was limited to allegations that CCA paid
the officials’ travel, lodging and meal expenses for the trip. Florida
law prohibits public officials from accepting any gift with a value of more
than $100 from a "lobbyist." In August 2004, Atkinson was cleared
of the charges, so her $1,085 in legal expenses is guaranteed
reimbursement. Burke said she proved that she was unaware CCA, not the
county, was paying for the Nashville trip.
February 24, 2005 News Herald
Bay County Jail officials ordered last weekend the installation of exterior,
sliding-bolt locks on transport van doors to prevent escape attempts by
inmates, said the jail’s warden. The new locks come after an inmate broke out of a Corrections
Corporation of America transport van Friday afternoon, resulting in an
18-hour manhunt. On Friday, 18-year-old Jeremy D. Aultman of Panama City Beach
manipulated the CCA van’s door-locking mechanism through the interior
paneling, CCA officials said. Aultman then escaped from the van that was
transporting 13 inmates to the Bay County Jail Annex, CCA officials
said. Along with new locks,
maintenance crews placed a steel plate over the interior passenger-door
panels of the transport van that Aultman escaped from, Watson said. Watson said steel plates already were in
place on other CCA vans. Watson on Tuesday defended the actions of
his transport driver, who prisoners said failed to notice Aultman trying to
escape and then ran from the vehicle to catch Aultman, according to police
reports. Watson said Tyndal
followed CCA policies and has not been disciplined. Tyndal
climbed out of the van to chase Aultman but gave up and returned to the
van, according to the reports. Though none of the 12 remaining inmates
joined Aultman in trying to flee, some reported to police that they had
ample opportunity. Inmate Ryan Meadows and Stanford W. Ferguson sat behind
Aultman during the transport from the main jail to Bayou George, according
to CCA incident reports. "Tyndal jumped out of the van, leaving his
door and our door wide open — keys still in the van," Meadows stated
in the incident report. Ferguson concurred Meadows’ report that Tyndal
chased Aultman without securing the van’s doors. Meadows added that when Tyndal came back to
the van, the guard took the inmates on a "high-speed" chase
through the nearby residential area called The Cove. Friday’s escape
attempt occurred about five months after four inmates at the main jail
escaped from their cells and held CCA employees hostage. A faulty cell door
lock received part of the blame for allowing the uprising, according to a
state investigation.
February 24, 2005 News Herald
Former Bay County Commissioner Danny Sparks has entered into a "joint
stipulation" with an advocate for the Florida Commission on Ethics in
which Sparks admits he violated state law when he accepted a $240 round of
golf paid for by the county’s financial adviser. The Ethics
Commission must approve the stipulation, which it will consider at its
April 21 meeting. The Florida Police Benevolent Association, a union
representing police and correctional officers, filed ethics complaints
against Sparks and five other former and current county officials in July
2003. The complaints targeted a February 2000 trip the officials took to
Tennessee to visit a jail operated by Corrections Corporation of America,
which also operates Bay County’s jail and jail annex. As a second leg of
the trip, the officials traveled to Arizona to view a publicly run jail.
Bay County was negotiating a contract renewal with CCA at the time.
The PBA also filed complaints, each with multiple allegations, against
former Commissioners Carol Atkinson and Richard Stewart, former County
Manager Jon Mantay, former county attorney Nevin Zimmerman, and county
Emergency Services Chief Bob Majka. The Ethics Commission issued probable-cause
findings against all but Atkinson. All allegations against her were
dismissed. Spark’s stipulation with the commission advocate includes a
recommendation that he be fined $1,000 and that he be publicly censured and
reprimanded. The public censure and reprimand would occur as part of an
executive order by the governor. The $240 golf game, which was played
during the trip, was paid for by Gary Akers, a financial consultant that
assists the county with bond issues. Florida law prohibits public officials
from accepting any gift with a value of more than $100 from a
"lobbyist." Ken Kopczynski, PBA’s legislative assistant, said
Ethics Commission investigators found out about the golf game as part of
their review of the PBA’s complaint. The Ethics Commission dismissed
allegations against Sparks related to CCA’s paying his travel expenses. The
commission based the dismissal on its determination that Sparks was not
aware that CCA was paying for the trip. The dismissal of the allegations
against former Commissioner Atkinson was based on the same determination.
In its probable cause findings issued in September, the Ethics Commission
found: That Majka, Mantay and Zimmerman may have violated state gift laws
by allowing CCA to pay their travel expenses. That Majka and Stewart, in
addition to Sparks, may have violated gift laws by accepting rounds of golf
from Akers. The commission dismissed the most serious allegations — that
the officials accepted the gifts with knowledge that they were intended to
influence future votes or decisions. Kopczynski said Wednesday that he
believes the stipulation with Sparks is "reasonable." But he
noted that allegations related to CCA would not be addressed until the
other officials enter into stipulations or settlements or take their cases
to hearing. Kopczynski’s organization, the Police Benevolent Association,
opposes privately operated prisons and jails.
February 22, 2005 News Herald
Will Rogers famously said that if you find yourself in a hole, the first
thing to do is stop digging. Corrections Corporation of America would do
well to heed his advice. Last summer’s takeover and hostage situation
brought scrutiny to CCA, the following investigations and News Herald
reports exposed gaps in security. CCA went into damage control mode. Now
that Bay County is talking about building an expansion to the existing jail
annex for maximum-security inmates, nearby residents are worried — and
rightly so ("Jail plans hit home," Feb. 21). Even as Ryan Burr
was writing the story about residents’ fears, an inmate escaped from a van
transporting prisoners to the facility from downtown. Residents raise these
kinds of fears any time a new prison or jail is planned. "Not in my
back yard" is a common refrain no matter how safe a facility is. Most
of them are, in fact, safe as can be and the fears turn out to be all hype.
This time, though, residents do have something to be worried about: a
corporation which has, time and time again, proven itself to be incompetent
and possibly dangerous to its prisoners and workers. According to the state
of Florida, 109 prisoners escaped from the Florida Department of
Corrections in the fiscal year beginning July 2003. But almost every single
one came from a work release program — in other words, they only had to
walk away. Inmates who escape these programs are non-violent and pose
little threat to the communities around them. Only three actually escaped
from the custody of correctional facilities. Since September, five
prisoners have escaped their cells at CCA facilities in Bay County — more
than other correctional facilities in the entire previous year in the
entire state of Florida. That’s not the kind of record that inspires
confidence. It’s more important for the county to ensure that CCA
establishes a normal level of security than it is to build new facilities
or shuffle prisoners from one jail to another. CCA is steadily losing the
trust of Bay County citizens by failing again and again to meet security
requirements. If CCA didn’t learn its lesson from the events of September,
it’s unlikely that one more escape will drive the point home. First things
first: Bay County needs to follow through on its plan to accept bids for
the jail contract and decide who could do the job best — even if that means
giving CCA the boot. A maximum-security jail doesn’t need to be a dangerous
place for nearby residents. Normal jails don’t have escapes every year, or
even every few years. It’s only because of CCA’s lax security that
residents have to worry. Once the jails have a real measure of security, a
maximum-security jail near residences might make sense. Until then, the
NIMBY folks have a point — with CCA in charge, no one would want a jail in
their back yard.
February 21, 2005 News Herald
When Dana Knight awoke one morning in 1997 to find bloody handprints on a
rented U-Haul truck and the driver’s window busted out, she didn’t have to
think long about possible culprits. Living near the Bay County Jail Annex
on Nehi Road, she understands there is a risk of escapees coming onto her
property. That is what happened in July 1997. Four inmates — three with
previous charges of murder or attempted murder — broke out of the jail
annex. When one of them could not jumpstart Knight’s U-Haul, the group went
to another residence and stole a vehicle, Knight said. Within about two
days, all of the inmates were apprehended. Knight and her husband, Dan,
have two children, ages 6 and 11. The couple used to live near the main Bay
County Jail in downtown Panama City, which keeps the most serious criminals
in maximum security. "I don’t think the CCA (Corrections Corporation
of America) has done their job," she said, referencing an inmate
takeover on Sept. 5 and 6 at the downtown jail. Four men were arrested in
that incident and face kidnapping charges. CCA operates both facilities.
February 20, 2005 News Herald
A 23-year-old Bay County Jail inmate faces a charge of introducing
contraband into a corrections facility after he told a guard he was hiding
money in his rectum, according to a jail investigation report. Chris Eckman of Panama City informed a jail
guard Friday evening of a $100 bill hidden in his body, according to the
report. The report does not explain the reason Eckman possessed the
cash. Eckman is awaiting trial on charges of smuggling drugs into the jail
, according to court records. Eckman was convicted of burglary and grand
theft in 2001 and placed on probation, according to court records. In 2002,
he was arrested for violating probation and in 2004 was found possessing
methamphetamine and Ecstasy inside the jail , according to court records.
February 20, 2005 News Herald
Police captured and returned to jail a Panama
City Beach man
on Saturday, a day after he escaped from a transport van. Panama
City police found Jeremy D. Aultman, 18, at about 7 a.m.,
walking through a residential area about a block from where he escaped,
according to police reports. Aultman became the subject of a manhunt Friday afternoon when
he unlocked the transport van’s door from the inside and ran from the
vehicle as it waited on a traffic signal. Thore said Aultman was en route
to the Bay County Jail Annex in Bayou George with 12 other inmates when he
escaped. Thore said Correction Corporation of America
, the Tennessee company that manages the
jail for Bay
County , continues to
investigate the incident.
February
19, 2005 News Herald
A Panama City Beach teen remained on the run Friday night
after escaping from a Bay County Jail transport van Friday afternoon, a
jail official said. Assistant Warden Richard Thore said police continued to
search for accused felon Jeremy Daniel Aultman, 18, of 229 E. Lakeshore
Drive. Thore said the search began at about 1:30 p.m. after a Corrections
Corporation of America transport van driver reported that an inmate escaped
from the van. The CCA driver was transporting 13 inmates from the downtown
jail to the CCA jail annex in Bayou George, he said. CCA manages the jail ,
the jail annex and the Bay Correctional Facility. The CCA van was stopped
at the intersection of U.S. Business 98 and Cove Boulevard, when Aultman
tripped a locking mechanism, pulled the van door open and fled south, Thore
said. The 12 other inmates remained in the van, he said.
February 5, 2005 News Herald
Police arrested a Bay County Jail corrections officer on multiple drug charges
while on his way to work Friday afternoon, according to a Bay County
Sheriff’s Office news release. Jamie Bishop, 29, of the 5200 block of
State 22A, faces charges of selling cocaine, possession of cocaine,
possession of steroids, possession of Xanax, possession of drug
paraphernalia and sale of a controlled substance, according to the news
release. Bishop was taken to the Bay County Jail and held pending bond.
January 24, 2005 News Herald
Former jail nurse Ann Marie "Amie" Hunt was a bundle of emotions
Friday as she talked about the night she almost died during an inmate
standoff at the Bay County Jail. Hunt was shot three times the morning of
Sept. 6 after a 12-hour standoff between four inmates and Bay County
deputies. Bullets entered her hip, back and left leg, damaging bones and
vital organs. Hunt, who was unable to stop herself from crying through much
of the interview and showed flashes of deep anger, said she has hired a
lawyer to explore the incident, the way it was handled and how it has been investigated
by the different agencies involved. She declined to go into too much
detail about the night of Sept. 5 and morning of Sept. 6, but did say she
never felt like her life was in danger during the standoff.
Investigators said four hostages gained control of a third-floor holding
cell, including the nurses’ station and prescription drug cabinet. Through
the standoff, the inmates released all the hostages but Hunt. Her husband, James Hunt, is still employed
by Corrections Corporation of America, the jail’s owner. He said he’s on
the payroll but is allowed to stay home and care for his wife.
January 1, 2005 News Herald
On the evening of Sept. 5, four inmates at the Bay County Jail broke free
from their third-floor cells, subdued a guard and took four people hostage.
The standoff ended 12 hours later in a hail of gunfire that injured a
hostage and two inmates. Three months later, the incident continues
to brew. A guard has been fired and the warden replaced while three
deputies who opened fire have been cleared by prosecutors and
investigators. But many questions remain: Did jail supervisors fail to fix
broken door locks? Did a guard fail to secure the inmates’ cells? Does the
county need to rethink its relationship with Corrections Corporation of America,
the Tennessee company hired to run the jail and annex? The Bay County
Commission could answer the last question in the coming year, as it decides
whether to put the jail operations contract — which CCA has held for nearly
20 years — out for bid.
December 30, 2004 News Herald
Like anything else, a jail is as secure as its weakest link. And as Anthony
Cormier’s Wednesday article "County report addresses issues in jail
incident" described the findings of Bay County’s contract monitor, any
weak link can become the weakest under the right circumstance. Therefore,
contract monitor Roger Hagen’s report on the September hostage incident
should not be reviewed as just another attempt to get to the bottom of the
inmate takeover. Investigative authorities have done that, tracing the
immediate spark to an apparently manipulable guard whom Corrections
Corporation of America has since dismissed. To some extent, CCA preempted
Hagen’s report by also reassigning the jail warden. Clearly, too much was
amiss to blame just a wayward guard. Supervisors rarely checked duty logs,
Hagen found. And when they did, it apparently wasn’t to look for weak links
— a broken key and a missing flashlight repeatedly were documented, for
example, to no avail. CCA should correct notated security related
maintenance issues within 24 hours, Hagen said, reasonably. The new
warden’s biggest challenge will be to persuade jail staff that CCA really
wants to start doing things right. Alas, from Hagen’s report, that’s a tall
order. Hagen depicted a culture in which employees feared retaliation by
management if they made supervisors "aware of any problems, staff
errors or performance deficiencies." In other words, the culture
outside the cells seemed little different from the culture that prevailed
behind bars. We agree with Hagen that CCA needs to refute what he calls a
"correctional code of silence." Do it by calling employees
together, or in writing, but do it. If employees don’t believe that CCA
means business, their business becomes to create even more weak links, not
fix them.
December 30, 2004 News Herald
A man who says he was in the Bay County Jail in September when four other
inmates took hostages on the third floor has sued the jail’s corporate
owner in federal court. Richard Lewis Bell Sr. of Ellenwood, Ga., filed
suit Nov. 8 against Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America
seeking $100,000 for reckless endangerment, "cruel and harsh
treatment," "mental stress," failing to maintain a maximum
security area, and failing to comply with the state "no smoking"
law. Bell stated in a handwritten complaint that he went through
"living hell" during and after a Sept. 5 takeover of the third
floor. He stated that after deputies stormed the cellblock and shot two
alleged hostage-takers and a nurse, the jail’s guards "went total
nuts." Bell wrote that he and other inmates who were not involved in
the takeover were thrown to the floor and grabbed by the hair. He stated
that in the days that followed, two-man cells were filled with four inmates
each, and the inmates were fed once every 24 hours.
December 29, 2004 News Herald
Bay County Jail managers were not regularly reviewing duty and maintenance
logs in the weeks before September’s inmate takeover and failed to address
issues — including a faulty cell door — that precipitated the standoff,
according to a county review obtained by The News Herald. An Unusual
Incident Review, completed last week by Bay County’s jail contract monitor,
Roger Hagen, offers a chronology of the takeover and 10 corrective actions
for Corrections Corporation of America supervisors. Among the
recommendations are disciplinary action for a third-floor guard — who two
weeks ago was fired — and a more thorough review by managers of daily logs
compiled by jail staff.
In the county’s review, Hagen found that Officer James Hall was "less
than truthful with law enforcement" when he recanted portions of his
story during interviews with police. Hall repeatedly told Sheriff’s
Office investigators that he was scared to work on the third floor of the
downtown facility and acknowledged violating numerous CCA policies because
he knew supervisors rarely checked duty logs. Hagen’s review seems to
second that notion. "When reviewing this documentation, for a 2-4 week
time period prior to the incident," Hagen wrote, "it was apparent
that managers or supervisors are either not regularly reviewing the logs or
if they are, they are not addressing the issues they document. As an
example, a broken key and a missing flashlight were repetitively documented
by different shift floor officers in the third floor post duty log for the
entire time frame I reviewed." The logs show a history of maintenance
problems on the third floor, including reports of broken locks that went
unfixed at least two weeks before the takeover, according to a November
examination by The News Herald. State agents confirmed the newspaper’s
examination in an Florida Department of Law Enforcement report, in which
guards, nurses and inmates all claimed that the door to cell C-1 easily could
be defeated. Perhaps a more
pressing issue cited in the review is a "correctional code of
silence," which keeps staff from reporting problems for fear of
retribution. "Most of the staff I had discussions with," he
wrote, "were concerned about being identified if they shared issues or
concerns with me."
December 19, 2004 News Herald
The Tennessee company that operates the Bay County Jail fired a corrections
officer Friday, three months after inmates held him hostage during a
12-hour standoff with police. Corrections Corporation of America terminated
James C. Hall of Lynn Haven for violations of CCA policy, according to
Kevin Watson, Bay County Jail warden. Watson declined to comment on specific violations Hall
committed. He confirmed that Hall’s violations were related to the escape
of inmates from their cells in September. Hall, 26, had been on
administrative leave since Sept. 6 pending police and CCA investigations
into the jail break that resulted in four inmates escaping from their cells
and taking Hall and three nurses hostage. According to an Florida
Department of Law Enforcement report on the hostage-taking incident, Hall
admitted during an interview with law enforcement agents that he allowed
inmates to shut themselves into their cells and falsified shift logs
relating to inmates’ time in the jail’s third-floor day room. The inmates,
nurses and Hall told investigators that inmates were able to escape from
their cells because of faulty locks on cell doors, something they said was
common knowledge in the jail, according to the FDLE report. Inmates also
told investigators they decided to start the incident because of inhumane
living conditions at the jail, including insufficient medical care,
physical and mental abuse by guards and low-quality food, according to the
FDLE report.
December 16, 2004 News-Herald
The Tennessee company that runs the Bay County Jail is "switching out
wardens" less than a week after the release of a state report
detailing personnel failures and maintenance problems that spurred
September’s inmate takeover. Despite the timing, Corrections Corporation of
America officials insist that the move — current Warden Denny Durbin is
out; longtime CCA administrator Kevin Watson is in — has nothing to do with
the 12-hour siege and torrent of scrutiny that followed. The Sept. 5 standoff, which ended in gunfire
on the third floor of the downtown facility, left one hostage and two
inmates with bullet wounds. But the FDLE also confirmed a News Herald
investigation of equipment failures on the jail’s third floor, where shift
logs and maintenance records show a history of broken locks in the
segregation unit. One of the accused inmates slipped from one of the cells
at the start of the takeover, and FDLE interviews indicate that the
maintenance problems were repeatedly reported to jail supervisors. One of
the hostages told agents, according to an interview transcript, that Durbin
and security chief Chuck Bellows were aware of the broken locks before the
takeover. Also, the lone guard working on the third floor told
investigators that he routinely falsified shift logs, broke company policy
regarding the number of inmates allowed out of their cells and allowed
prisoners to lock their own cells the night of the siege.
December 9, 2004 News-Herald
So, it all started months before, with a jail cell lock that didn’t work.
It ended, of course, when a Sheriff’s Office SWAT team terminated with
bullets a tense 12-hour hostage standoff. In between, from May to
September, the broken lock repeatedly was brought to Corrections
Corporation of America’s attention by guards and other jail personnel. It
repeatedly got fixed but never for very long. It apparently didn’t work for
almost two weeks before the Sept. 5 blowup. The last guard who brought it
to CCA’s attention did so indirectly, by being knocked to the floor by
inmates leaving the cellblock to raise havoc. The ensuing bloody
confrontation involving inmates, hostages and SWAT team sharpshooters was
unusual by any corrections measure. The broken lock wasn’t, at least not at
the Bay County Jail. The News
Herald’s Anthony Cormier has written, and on Tuesday the release of a
Florida Department of Law Enforcement report confirmed, that jail staff
reported the broken lock at least five times. The easily opened cell was
common knowledge around the jail. It does indicate that CCA was not concerned about oversight. Bay
County has a stunningly ineffective full-time corrections program manager
on county staff (he complains he gets no respect from CCA). The Sheriff’s
Office, the jail’s best customer, has no say in managing what goes on
inside. County commissioners think
only about cost.
December 9, 2004 News-Herald
A guard failed to secure cell doors that he allowed inmates to shut
themselves the night of a 12-hour siege at the Bay County Jail, according
to interview transcripts obtained by The News Herald. Officer James Hall
acknowledged to detectives that he falsified shift logs related to inmates’
time in a third-floor day room and said he made a "mistake" in
allowing three of the four accused hostagetakers out of their cells in the
hours before the Sept. 5 standoff, the transcripts show. Hall, 26, also
admitted lying to Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents about the
severity of a blow to his head during the takeover, according to an
interview conducted more than a month after the incident. In a Nov. 22
interview with a Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigator, Hall said he did
not secure a lock box —which ensures all the cell doors are locked — and
told inmates to close cell doors themselves. According to the transcript:
Hall had allowed four inmates — including suspected hostage-takers James
Norton, Kevin Winslett and Kevin Nix — to mingle in a day room earlier in
the day. Corrections Corporation of America policy maintains that only one
inmate at a time be allowed to enter the segregation unit’s day room. Hall
said he normally allowed more than one inmate into the day room, and often
falsified shift logs to show that only one prisoner was in the room
recreation area. The guard knew that this was a policy violation, but said
that he knew he wouldn’t be disciplined because supervisors "hardly
ever check the logs." Despite indications that the doors may not have
been closed, Hall and others — including inmates and nurses — maintain that
Norton escaped from his cell because a door lock was broken. Maintenance
records show that the lock to Norton’s cell, 3C-1, repeatedly malfunctioned
and had not been fixed in two weeks before the takeover. Nix, Nurse
Kathleen Baucum and Norton’s cellmate each told FDLE agents that Norton’s
door did not lock, and jail staff repeatedly told supervisors of the
problem. A 750-page FDLE report, released this week, indicates that the
equipment malfunction triggered the breakout. "It’s a well-known
fact," Baucum told investigators. "It’s been put in writing by me
… it’s been put in writing by my supervisor … and by another nurse and by (Chief
of Security Chuck) Bellows himself." In an interview with FDLE agents, Norton accused Hall of
being "in on" the escape plan and said Hall had only one request
for the inmates: "Just don’t hurt me." Hall
strongly denied the allegation that he knew of the inmates’ plan, saying he
lied during his initial interview because he wanted to keep his job. Hall
said he was "scared" to work on the third floor and believed that
a second officer should be assigned to the pod during each shift. "The
way the jail is run," Hall told investigators, "the way it was
run when I was there scares me, it doesn’t feel safe ever."
December 8, 2004 News-Herald
The use of deadly force by police during a jail uprising and hostage
situation in September that left two prisoners and a hostage injured was
necessary, State Attorney Jim Appleman has determined. In a letter sent to
the Florida Department of Law Enforcement on Monday, Appleman stated his
office had reviewed the FDLE’s investigative report of the incident and
determined that officers’ gunfire was justified, including a SWAT team
member’s shot that injured a hostage. The standoff began at about 8 p.m. on
Sept. 5, when officers from the Bay County Sheriff’s Office’s hostage
negotiation and SWAT teams responded to a report of a hostage situation at
the Bay County Jail, managed by Corrections Corporation of America.
According to the FDLE report, during an attempt to escape, inmates Kevin
Winslett, Kevin Nix, Matthew Coffin and James Norton had jumped a CCA
corrections officer and three nurses working on the third floor of the jail
and were holding them hostage. During the 12-hour standoff, the hostage
negotiation team was able to free the corrections officer and two nurses
before one of the inmates, Kevin Nix, threatened to kill the remaining nurse,
Ann Marie "Amy" Hunt, according to the report. Lead negotiator
Jimmy Stanford, who was conducting face-to-face negotiations with the
inmates, saw Nix with his arms around Hunt with a scalpel to her neck and a
syringe to her stomach, according to the report. At that time, convinced
the "situation was getting worse," Stanford said Tuesday, he
pulled a pistol and fired at Nix’s legs. SWAT team members Lt. Rad Nelson
and Sgt. Tony Bruening were hiding in a room near the hostages and the
inmates when they heard the shots, according to the report. They came out
of the room and fired toward the inmates. One of the rounds from Bruening’s
gun hit Hunt in her left hip and came to rest in her kidney, according to
the report. Hunt was struck three times, including in her lower leg and the
small of her back, according to the FDLE report. Nix suffered a gunshot
wound to the front of his left calf, and Norton was shot once in the in the
front lower left leg, according to the report.
December 8, 2004 News-Herald
It was common knowledge, an open secret that everybody — guards, nurses,
inmates and supervisors — was in on. Florida Department of Law Enforcement
documents confirmed Tuesday that a broken lock triggered September’s inmate
takeover at the Bay County Jail, allowing one prisoner to escape from his
cell and ambush the lone guard on the third floor of the downtown facility.
The FDLE file supports a recent News Herald investigation, which revealed
two weeks ago that jail staff reported five times in the 60 days prior to
the takeover that third-floor locks were broken or had malfunctioned.
According to maintenance records, work orders and shift logs, jail
personnel requested maintenance work for a door lock to Cell 3C-1. The
first request was made on May 23; the final request came on Aug. 23, when a
guard wrote that the door again needed to be fixed. But the work order was
returned without a signature and remarks include: "need to fix door …
officer did not have time." It was this broken lock, the FDLE case file
shows, that allowed inmate James Norton to escape at the beginning of the
12-hour siege. Norton slipped out of his cell, then struck officer James
Hall in the back of the head, stole his keys and freed four other inmates. FDLE interviews with guards, nurses and inmates
indicate that jail supervisors were aware of the equipment problems,
although officials from the private company hired to run the jail have
declined comment on the matter. Hall, the officer who was
slugged in the head with a padlock wrapped inside a sock, told
investigators that the third-floor locks long had been a problem, according
to an FDLE transcript. In a meeting with The News Herald last week, CCA
President John Ferguson said Hall had been placed on administrative leave
since the incident. "Cell 1 does not lock," Hall told the agents.
"Everybody knows it. We have put in a request to get it fixed.
Maintenance says that they have fixed it, but they can still roll right out
of it."
December 1, 2004 News-Herald
It was an ambush. A corrections officer
on the third floor of the Bay County Jail was tricked by an inmate
"playing possum" and struck in the back of the head with a
padlock or bar of soap wrapped in a sock, according to CCA officials who
laid bare Tuesday the chronology of events that precipitated September’s
standoff at the downtown facility. CCA President John Ferguson acknowledged that the incident on
Sept. 5 was a watershed moment for the Bay County Jail and may have sullied
CCA’s public reputation. A controversial afteraction report, compiled
by an outside law firm to gauge CCA’s liability, sparked the disconnect and
left both sides wondering how to mend a relationship fractured by the
takeover. Last month, CCA
officials delivered to the county’s contract monitor a ream of documents
requested four days after the incident. The News Herald also requested and
obtained those records, which showed a history of broken locks and
equipment problems on the third floor of the jail, where the takeover
occurred. According to Turner: At about 9 p.m. on Sept. 5, a third-floor
corrections officer approached an inmate in a segregation unit about a dose
of medicine. When the inmate didn’t respond, the officer entered the cell
and tried to awaken him. The inmate, Turner said, was "playing possum"
and setting the stage for a pre-planned escape attempt. With the officer in
the cell, another inmate sneaked behind and swung at the officer’s head
with an improvised weapon — likely a bar of soap or padlock wrapped in a
sock and wielded like a mace. The officer radioed for help and the shift
captain raced to the third floor, slamming shut a riot gate and shutting
down elevators to keep the inmates from getting off that floor. With their
escape foiled, the inmates rushed across the hall to a nurse’s station —
where an examination of maintenance records shows at least one instance of
broken locks in the 60 days preceding the takeover. At least one CCA staffer has been placed
on administrative leave since Sept. 6, although officials refused to
identify the employee or the employee’s position. In a letter to Bay
County’s jail contract monitor, a CCA attorney wrote that any employee who
failed to follow company policy has been "counseled, retrained,
reassigned or disciplined, as appropriate." It is unclear how many
employees this applies to, and CCA officials said they could not
immediately release that information.
November 22, 2004 News Herald
The medical pod and segregation wing of the Bay County Jail were plagued by
broken and jammed door locks in the weeks leading up to September’s inmate
takeover, according to maintenance requests and work orders obtained by The
News Herald. There is plenty of smoke but no smoking gun in a ream of
documents released by Corrections Corporation of America, the Tennessee
company tasked with an internal investigation of policies, procedures and
possible failures that contributed to the 12-hour standoff on Sept. 5.
Records indicate that a series of equipment problems on the third floor of
the Bay County Jail precipitated the uprising, which ended when negotiators
stormed the medical pod and shot one hostage and two inmates. A CCA liaison
met Friday morning with Roger Hagen, the county’s jail point man, to hand
over records requested four days after the incident. The News Herald also
filed public record requests for the documents. Hagen and CCA engaged for
more than two months in a muted battle over the records, publicly
squabbling over an "after-action report" and a dearth of
communication during the internal probe. Hagen said Friday he expected to
review the materials over the weekend before reporting back to the Bay
County Commission, which soon is expected to seek bidders on the contract
to run the downtown jail and Nehi Road annex. A News Herald examination of the paperwork reveals no definitive
evidence suggesting how the inmates escaped their cells, although shift
logs and maintenance requests show a history of equipment problems on the
floor where the four accused inmates were being held.
According to jail records:
At least five times in the 60 days prior to the takeover, CCA personnel
requested maintenance work for a door lock to Cell 3C-1.In interviews
following the standoff, authorities suggested Norton set off the takeover
by escaping from his cell, 3C-1, and beating a guard in the medical pod.
One of the hostages, Glenda Baker, told The News Herald that she was
distributing medicine on the third floor when the lights suddenly went off
and one of the locks failed. Baker said one of the inmates released the
others and overtook the floor’s lone guard, and negotiators contend that
the inmates used a padlock to seal the faulty door from police. Perhaps the
most controversial element of CCA’s investigation is the "after-action
report," a compilation of liabilities put together for the company by
an outside law firm. Jennifer Taylor, CCA’s senior director of business
development, said Friday that there was some confusion about the legal
probe, which resulted not in a tangible report but informal guidelines for
the company to follow. CCA employees who failed to follow company policy in
connection with the incident have been "counseled, retrained,
reassigned or disciplined, as appropriate." It is unclear how many
employees this applies to, and CCA officials said they could not immediately
release that information.
November 20, 2004 News Herald
Bay County and the company hired to run its jail met Friday to make amends
for two months of quiet bickering, with each side making concessions to the
other in the fight for information about September’s hostage taking and
standoff at the Bay County Jail. A Corrections Corporation of America liaison was in Panama
City on Friday for a discussion with Roger Hagen, the county’s jail point
man. Hagen previously said he was frustrated by CCA’s slow response to the
request, which was made four days after the takeover.
November 14, 2004 News Herald
Everybody wants to know what happened — and CCA refuses to say. Bay County officials trying to determine
the root of September’s inmate takeover at the Bay County Jail have run
into a corporate-size roadblock and are now trying to pry vital information
from the tight-lipped, $141-million company that operates the county’s
downtown facility. Corrections
Corporation of America was blamed last week for a lack of cooperation
during the aftermath of the hostage-taking and standoff that landed a nurse
and two prisoners in the hospital. County leaders criticized the company
for operating in secret and failing to consult with local administrators on
the outcome of a controversial after-action report. The report is supposed to detail how four
inmates got free from their cells, obtained weapons, took hostages and kept
the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at bay for 12 hours. Roger Hagen, the county’s correctional
program manager, said CCA has kept him in the dark during its investigation
and has not consulted with him. Commissioners Jerry Girvin and Cornel Brock
said they were not aware of any communication between the county and the
company — despite contrary claims by CCA. "We’ve been in contact with
Bay County throughout this process," said Louise Chickering, a
marketing executive at the company’s Nashville, Tenn., headquarters.
"We are keeping them up to date." "They are? Well, who are
they talking to?" Hagen asked last week. "It’s not me. You’d
think by now they would have been in contact with someone." Said
Girvin: "It sounds very confusing to me, on their part. On CCA’s
part." The disconnect was triggered by an incident summary and review
that Chickering said was completed more than two weeks ago. But last week,
Chickering hedged against that claim, saying that only "the
investigation is complete but the report is not." Several groups,
including The News Herald, have filed formal requests to review the report,
but a CCA attorney said the after-action report never will become a public
record. That’s because the
investigation was performed by a private law firm hired by CCA, legal
counsel Gus Puryear said Thursday. The law firm, Puryear said, was brought
in to protect the company from liability. For Brock and Hagen,
CCA’s reluctance to share information is troubling. The county recently
recouped $1.25 million from the company in return for a contract extension
through September 2005.
To dissuade the county from bidding out the contract to operate the jail —
which commissioners ultimately decided to do — CCA offered to reduce Bay’s
bill by $83,333 a month from June 1 through May 31, 2005. CCA also paid the
county a lump sum of $250,000 on Oct. 1. The company also has been
besieged by bad public relations, as CCA struggled with riots, takeovers
and a homicide in the last four months. In a two-week period in July,
inmates nearly overtook facilities in Colorado and Mississippi. That
followed a July 7 homicide in Nashville and a smaller uprising in Oklahoma.
A Colorado Department of Corrections report indicated that understaffing
led to a slow response to a disturbance at the Crowley County Correctional
Institution — where inmates beat cellmates and set fires across the
facility. That the company has not been forthcoming during its
investigation of the Bay County Jail is disconcerting, Hagen said. While he
has remained in touch with local CCA administrators, Hagen said his
dealings with the corporate office have been uneasy at best. Like others,
Hagen has tried for weeks to keep abreast of the company’s critical
incident review. But getting his hands on the after-action report has
proved impossible. "I don’t know if I can get a copy," Hagen
said, "and its contents have never been discussed." Brock, who leaves office Tuesday, said the
problem may lie with the County Commission and its staff, which has never
shown the "enthusiasm" necessary to keep tabs on the jail.
November 9, 2004 News Herald
A state investigation into September’s inmate takeover and police shootings
at the Bay County Jail is complete and likely will be turned in to the
State Attorney’s Office today. In its review of the incident, the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement focused solely on the shootings of a jail nurse and two inmates
accused of barricading themselves inside a third-floor medical wing. In
addition to FDLE and Sheriff’s Office documents, CCA spokeswoman Louise
Chickering said jail administrators completed an after-action report about
two weeks ago. Chickering also said the company had been in contact with
Bay County officials about its findings. A CCA attorney later denied a News
Herald public record request to review that report. Panama City lawyer Cliff Higby said the
report had not yet been finished. And Roger Hagen, Bay County’s
correctional program manager, said the Nashville-based company had not
spoken with local officials regarding the after-action report. "I
don’t know who in the world they’ve been talking to," Hagen said two
weeks ago. "But they haven’t been talking to me."
November 3, 2004 News Herald
One of four men charged in a September jailhouse kidnapping pleaded Tuesday
to the charges that had him in the Bay County Jail initially. Matthew Coffin, 18, pleaded no contest to
escape, robbery with a weapon and attempted robbery with a weapon. Coffin
is one of four men accused of taking hostages in a jailhouse standoff Sept.
5. The standoff ended when sheriff’s deputies stormed a third-floor holding
cell and shot a suspect and the hostage.
October 9, 2004 News Herald
The company that manages the Bay County Jail has completed an internal
investigation into a September hostage taking at the facility. Louise Chickering, a spokeswoman for the Nashville-based
Corrections Corporation of America, said company investigators have
finished an "after action report" assessing the incident.
"We have completed the report and are keeping the county up to date on
all our processes and getting as much feedback as possible,"
Chickering said. The report is not available for public inspection,
Chickering said. On Sept. 5, police
said four jail prisoners barricaded themselves with four CCA nurses on the
third floor of the jail. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is
expected to complete a "fact-finding" report by the end of
October, said Lisa Lagergren, spokeswoman for the FDLE.
October 6, 2004 News Herald
Police are awaiting the autopsy report for a 22-year-old Springfield man
before closing the investigation into his suspected self-inflicted death at
the Bay County Jail during Hurricane Ivan. Bay County Sheriff’s Office
Investigator John Sumerall said it appears that William Henry Cantor hanged
himself from his jail cell bunk with a bedsheet Sept. 15. He said Cantor
died alone in a jail cell located in a section of the jail used
specifically for inmates who request to be isolated from other inmates.
September 26, 2004 News Herald
An inmate disappeared from the Bay County Jail in downtown Panama City at
about 8 p.m. Friday and remained on the lam Saturday night. "We’re
working some leads. As of yet they have proven to be fruitless," said
Lt. Dave Delaney with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. "We are
actively looking for him."
September 12, 2004 News Herald
I will not second-guess the command decision to utilize deadly force when
SWAT members stormed the Bay County jail. I will let an objective and
comprehensive afteraction investigation review those facts. There are,
however, several initial items which warrant complete review. As a retired
associate warden with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (22½ years), I’ve had
some experience in these matters. First, was there a clear chain of
command? Who was "calling the shots" regarding the negotiations —
Bay County Officials or Corrections Corporation of America’s warden of the
site? Second, was there a public information officer designated to speak on
all matters to the media? Negotiators usually never speak to the media
during negotiations as Sheriff Frank McKeithen did. Third, I read where a
door would not lock and the staff panic-button alarm system malfunctioned.
These issues are inexcusable. Security conditions (cell locking mechanisms,
staff emergency equipment, etc.) must be checked each shift — daily — and
when found inoperative fixed immediately, or replaced with functioning
equipment. Fourthly, how could inmates access controlled medications?
Facilities are required to have these items safely secured (behind a grille
in a safe) and available for immediate disposal through a chute in event of
an emergency. Finally, who’s overseeing CCA’s compliance with contractual
requirements, correctional personnel and jail standards, and regulations?
Many important issues must be addressed through an objective post-incident investigation
team. Accountability for incompetence must be made. By Fred Apple. The
writer, who helped run federal prisons in Minnesota, now is retired and
lives in Panama City.
September 9, 2004 News Herald
He missed. He just missed. Bay County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jimmy Stanford
was aiming for the inmate’s leg, aiming to end a 12-hour standoff that had
quickly dissolved, that had been calm and controlled but soon spiraled into
a violent, drug-laced nightmare. There he was Monday morning, on the third floor
of the Bay County Jail, trying to quash a rebellion and earn freedom for
the final hostage. He saw the nurse, a scalpel to her throat and a
hypodermic needle at her chest, the inmate standing behind her.
September 9, 2004 News Herald
The Florida Ethics Commission on Wednesday issued probable-cause findings
on two former Bay County commissioners, a former county attorney, a former
county manager and a current county employee on charges related to a 2000
trip to Nashville, Tenn. The Ethics Commission’s findings are related to a
February 2000 trip the county officials took to Tennessee to visit a jail
operated by Corrections Corporation of America, which also operates Bay
County’s jail and annex. Bay County was negotiating a contract renewal with
CCA at the time of the trip. In July
2003, the Florida Police Benevolent Association filed complaints with the
Ethics Commission against former County Commissioners Carol Atkinson, Danny
Sparks and Richard Stewart, former County Manager Jon Mantay, former county
attorney Nevin Zimmerman, and Bob Majka, then and still the county’s
emergency services director. The Ethics Commission dismissed all complaints
against Atkinson because she believed the county was paying for the trip,
according to the Ethics Commission’s report.
September 8, 2004 News Herald
The wisdom of the bloody end Sheriff Frank McKeithen ordered to a weekend
hostage standoff at Bay County Jail will be thoroughly weighed under more
tranquil circumstances, as it should. Given the criminal history of four
inmates who took hostages and threatened to take lives, though, the sheriff
for 11 hours lived with the knowledge that these were not just boys acting
up. It appears that all four should have been in a betterguarded state
penitentiary or institution; one may be a mental case. The
hostage-takers’ grievances deserve attention, not from sympathy for their
diet or sloppy medication management, but as a more sober-minded look at
the county’s repeated inability to properly monitor or control what goes on
inside the jail or to properly address complaints raised by inmates over
and over, year after year. CCA also is constantly pressured to do
everything more cheaply.
September 8, 2004 Tallahassee Democrat
A sheriff's negotiator won the release of three employees before a SWAT
team stormed the Bay County Jail when inmates threatened to torture and
kill their remaining hostage, a nurse who then was accidentally shot,
authorities said Tuesday. The nurse suffered gunshot wounds in the back and
leg Monday and remained hospitalized in stable condition, said sheriff's
spokeswoman Ruth Sasser. Inmates had taken over the six-story jail's
third-floor infirmary, and one of them was holding a scalpel to the nurse's
neck when the SWAT team and armed jailers ended an 11-hour standoff that
began about 9 p.m. Sunday, Sasser said. The hostages - three female nurses
and a male guard - worked for Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections
Corporation of America, which operates the jail under contract with the
county. Licensed practical nurse Glenda Baker, however, told The News
Herald of Panama City that she was one of the hostages released during the
night. The lights had gone off and a door to the floor's cells failed to
lock before the incident occurred, Baker said. One inmate then released
others and four hostage-takers overpowered the only guard on the floor.
Then a panic button failed, she said. A television anchor said she had
received a telephone call Sunday night from someone claiming to be holding
hostages at the jail. The caller said he was upset about health hazards
there.
September 8, 2004 News Herald
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement continued its investigation on
Tuesday into the Bay County Sheriff’s Office’s response to a Bay County
Jail hostage situation that ended in gunfire early Monday morning. Four
jail inmates were charged in the hostagetaking, which ended when Bay County
SWAT team members stormed the third-floor area where the men had barricaded
themselves with four hostages. A CCA nurse and two inmates were injured by gunfire when the
SWAT team moved in.
September 6, 2004 AP
A SWAT team stormed
the Bay County Jail on Monday to end an 11-hour hostage standoff, injuring
one hostage and three inmates, authorities said. An undetermined number of
other employees were freed. The injured hostage, a nurse, suffered a leg
wound and was undergoing surgery at a hospital, and her injury did not
appear to be life-threatening.
July 22, 2004 Times News
A jail melee that left three prisoners injured this week was motivated by
"racial prejudice," according to arrest affidavits filed
Wednesday at the Bay County Courthouse. Six men attacked two men
"en masse," using their fists and a makeshift weapon — a padlock
stuffed in a sock — during a quarrel Monday at the Bay County Jail,
authorities reported. One of the alleged attackers also turned on a third
man who tried to quell the fisticuffs, police said. Five of the
prisoners were charged with two counts of felony battery on a detainee.
They are: Tyree C. Cleveland, 22; Danny D. Dorsey, 19; Shawn C. Ponds, 28;
Demar J. Davis, 19; and Derrick M. Bell, 19. Johnny L. Brown, 23, was
charged with three counts of felony battery, accused of shoving the man who
tried to break up the fight into a metal bunk. An official from Corrections
Corporation of America, which runs the Bay County Jail and its annex on
Nehi Road, said the fight occurred on the fifth floor of the downtown
Panama City facility. Spokeswoman Mary Hughes said two guards were on duty
at the time and called for backup when the melee began. The injuries were
minor, Hughes said, and the alleged victims were treated at the jail.
Arrest affidavits said the suspected attackers had been calling two of the
victims a racial epithet the week before the incident and made the men
complete their daily work assignments. The alleged attackers also used the
epithet during the beating, the affidavits said. "We were not
aware of that," Hughes said. "The chief was told that by the (Bay
County) Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating it."
May 18, 2004, News Herald
A suspected thief died after a two-day stay at the Bay County Jail and
annex, and investigators probing the incident have not determined why the
42-year-old suffered seizure-like conditions shortly before his death. Stacy Allan Tolbert was frothing at the
nose and mouth Monday afternoon in an observation cell at the Nehi Road
annex when a fellow prisoner cried for help, and jail staff called an
ambulance to the facility. Documents show two different court dates -- Sunday and Monday
-- and both indicate he should have been released on his own recognizance.
March 23, 2004, The Ledger
The last two of six Bay County Jail inmates charged in the beating death of
a fellow inmate pleaded guilty and were sentenced Monday.
Investigators said Chad Littles, 18, was beaten to death in October 2002
because others thought he was an informant for the guards, The News Herald
reported. Littles' mother has sued Corrections Corporation of America
Inc., which operates the jail, claiming it did not protect her son. That
lawsuit hasn't been resolved.
February 26, 2004, News Herald
One Bay County Jail inmate received 10 years in prison and another received
five years after pleading no contest to charges stemming from the beating
and stomping death of another inmate. Jeremiah Samuel Hinsey, 22, received
10 years for manslaughter and Carlos King, 32, five years for aggravated
assault in the 2002 death of Chad Littles, 18, at the jail's annex outside
Panama City.
October 14, 2003, News Herald
Circuit Judge Don T. Sirmons followed the agreed upon sentence in Ronald
Lawson’s plea deal Monday and gave him five years in prison for his role in
the beating death of a Bay County Jail inmate last year. Lawson, who was
originally charged with second degree murder in the death of Chad Littles,
18, pleaded no contest to felony battery several months ago.
July 15, 2003, News Herald
A union that represents law enforcement and correctional officers said
Monday that it had filed ethics complaints against three former Bay County
commissioners, a former county manager, a former county attorney and the
county’s chief of emergency services. The Florida Police Benevolent
Association said its complaints stemmed from a February 2000 trip the
officials took to Tennessee to visit a jail operated by Corrections
Corporation of America, which also operates Bay County’s jail and annex.
Ken Kopczynski, PBA’s legislative assistant, said the union has
documentation that CCA paid for the trip, including airfare, hotel rooms
and meals. At the time, CCA and the county were negotiating the renewal of
the contract for Bay County jail operations. "It is very questionable
since they were in the middle of contract negotiations (with CCA,)"
Kopczynski said. Kopczynski said PBA began looking into Atkinson after she
began chairing the privatization commission last year. As part of that
research, he said, "we came across this trip."
April 3, 2003, News Herald
Corrections Corporation of America has pledged to work with the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement to address discrepancies in computerized
arrest information for inmates at the Bay County Jail. In January, the FDLE
reviewed CCA’s computerized arrest records against 288 booking reports.
FDLE found a "high percentage" of discrepancies, ranging from
incorrect or misspelled names to incorrect charges. A number of the
discrepancies occurred because arresting officers failed to enter proper
Florida Statute numbers to identify criminal charges.
A man who used his little brother's name to
avoid being booked into the Bay County Jail Sunday remained at large Monday
after escaping out an unguarded back door at the Bay County Jail. (The News
Herald, December 17, 2002)
Correctional officers at the Bay County Jail released the wrong woman
Tuesday when a female inmate assumed the identity of a sleeping woman who
was in the same holding cell for detoxification. While the intoxicated
woman was sleeping in the cell, Robbie Levingston, 29, answered for her,
signed for her belongings and walked out of the jail, said Bay County
Sheriff's Lt. J. D. Nolin. (The News Herald, December 6, 2002)
Six inmates at the Bay County Correctional Facility Annex on Nehi Road were
charged Sunday with the beating death overnight of Chad Littles, 18, of
Panama City. Littles was serving time for failure to pay a fine –possession
of less than 20 grams of marijuana, resisting an officer without
violence/violation of probation on an original charge of burglary of a
structure. Littles was killed after an altercation in the B dorm of the minimum
security annex, where about 80 inmates are housed. The fight began after a
routine shakedown yielded an instrument for applying tattoos. After guards
let the inmates back into their cell pod, at least four of the defendants
allegedly confronted Littles at the rear of the dorm and began to beat him.
Littles was able to get away temporarily and was trying to summon guards
when King blocked his way and, according to witnesses, enticed the same
inmates to "finish him." At that time, DeRossutt came up
behind Littles and pulled his feet out from under him, causing his head to
strike the concrete floor with full force, knocking him unconscious.
Witnesses said Najair, Burks, Hinsey and Lawson then began to kick or hit
Littles while he was lying on the floor. Guards arrived and summoned the
on-duty nurse for CCA. The nurse then called EMS to transport Littles to
Bay Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. (News Herald, October 7,
2002)
While grand jurors found no criminal liability in the death of a Bay County
Jail inmate, their presentment found there were "serious
deficiencies" on the part of jail personnel "which led, or
contributed to the death of Justin Sturgis." CCA representatives said
Sturgis caused his own death. However, the medical protocols the jail had
in place were inadequate and weren't followed anyway, according to the
presentment. "Correctional personnel failed to demonstrate adequate
health training in responding to the level of distress evidenced by Justin
Sturgis," the jury's presentment stated. In addition, policies that
require a "system of structured inquiry and observation" to an
inmate's medical condition were not adhered to. Grand jurors also
recommended that the Bay County Commission look into the matter to see if
it merits termination of the county's contract with CCA. (Panama City News
Herald, August 19, 2002)
The parents of Justin Sturgis have filed a notice that they intend to sue
the Bay County Jail and perhaps Bay Medical Center for failing to properly
care for Sturgis when he became fatally ill in a jail holding cell on Feb.
15. Doctors believe that Sturgis, 21, died of malignant hyperthermia, a
rare reaction to the street drug Ecstasy. Attorney Wes Pittman said he will
file suit against Corrections Corporation of America on behalf of the
Sturgis family. CCA is the private company contracted by Bay County to
manage the jail. "These parents do not want anyone else to suffer the
grief they are experiencing right now," Pittman said. "Their
motivation is to try and prevent this from happening to someone else.
"If the allegations made by other prisoners are correct, we are
certainly looking at CCA for violations of certain civil rights afforded to
inmates as well as being extraordinarily negligent." (The News Herald,
February 27, 2002)
A man who worked at the Bay County Jail as a nurse said Wednesday that he
quit last year because he felt pressure from correctional officers not to
do his job and feared that an inmate eventually would die. "And it
happened," Jerry Militich told The News Herald. "I knew it was
going to happen, and I couldn't handle it. So I left. When I saw the paper,
I had to call." Militich was referring to a story about the death of
20-year-old Justin Sturgis early Friday. The specific pressure he said he
felt was to avoid sending sick inmates to the hospital. Corrections
Corporation of America, which runs the jail under contract with Bay County,
must pay to transport prisoners to the hospital and pay for the medication
that inmates receive. Militich said he worked for CCA for about a year
during 2000 and 2001. He said Wednesday that some of the medical practices
at the jail while he was there upset him. (The News Herald, February 21,
2002)
Allegations that Bay County Jail guards mocked an ill DUI suspect - who
later went into convulsions and died Friday morning - come as no surprise
to local defense attorneys and a former correctional officer who worked at
the jail for three years. Inmates have said that guards did little to help
20-year-old Justin Sturgis, who reportedly told one correctional officer he
had taken 10 Ecstasy pills. No one called for an ambulance until he went
into cardiac arrest. Criminal defense attorneys, meanwhile, said some of
their clients have complained for years about the way some Corrections
Corporation of America employees have treated them. (News Herald, February
19, 2002)
A man accused of escaping from jail officials last month to avoid prison
could have received a harsher sentence Monday, but will still be behind
bars until he's almost 50. According to police, Collier walked out of the
Bay County Courthouse law library and escaped from two jail guards.
Investigators said he asked the guards if he could use the restroom and
they allowed him to go unescorted. The guards, both Corrections Corporation
of America employees, have been released by the company. (News Herald, July
10, 2001)
A man with an extensive criminal history, and facing another 30 years in
prison, walked out of the Bay County Courthouse on Thursday with a little
help from some friends. Tracy Lashawn Collier, 35, was recaptured near a
relative's house in Callaway Thursday evening. While at the law library, he
asked the guards if he could use the restroom and was allowed to go in
alone, the Bay County Sheriff's Office said. When he didn't return after a
period of time, the guards checked on him and discovered he was gone. (The
News Herald, June 09, 2001)
An inmate awaiting trial on domestic violence, document forgery and
attempted escape charges hanged himself in his cell at the privately
operated Bay County Jail. Sheriff's deputies said John Alvin Leggett, 38,
used a bed sheet for a noose. His body was discovered Wednesday during a
bed check. (Naples Daily News, April 21, 2001)
Bent
County Correctional Facility, Bent County, Colorado
Terrell
Griswold: Mother questions inmate's "natural" death in private
prison: Westword By Alan Prendergast, January 6, 2012. On
October 28, 2010, a 26-year-old inmate named Terrell Griswold was found
slumped over and unresponsive in his cell in the Bent County Correctional
Facility, a private prison in southeastern Colorado.
Jan
26, 2022 coloradonewsline.com
These
private prisons have over 100% staff turnover. Will more state money help?
The
rural Colorado communities depend on tax revenue from two CoreCivic
facilities
Two
private prisons in rural southeast Colorado - both operated by the company
CoreCivic - are grappling with high turnover rates among their staff. To
address this, the Department of Corrections wants more state money to pay
CoreCivic. Lawmakers voted Friday to support that request. In 2021, DOC and
CoreCivic data show a turnover rate of 107% at the Bent County prison and
126% at the Crowley County prison, according to a Friday memo for state
lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee, prepared by committee staff.
"This means that the number of separated correctional officers exceeds
the average number of officers at those facilities; more people are
starting and quitting than are employed there," the memo states. The
DOC requested $1.09 million in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30,
and $4.32 million in the next fiscal year to raise the per diem rate at the
two private prison facilities. Under DOC's request, the rates would
increase incrementally - by $3.40 this year, and then by another $1.13 next
year, bringing the per diem rate to $63.32. (That's the rate that the state
pays CoreCivic per inmate, per day.)
Joint Budget Committee staff recommended raising the per diem rate
by $4.53 immediately instead of doing it in increments. This proposal would
cost $1.45 million in the current
fiscal year and $4.32 million next fiscal year. Lawmakers on the JBC voted
5-0 on Friday to accept the staff recommendation, meaning the funding
increase will be part of budget legislation that the entire General
Assembly must vote on this spring. Rep. Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat,
was excused for the vote. Sen. Bob Rankin, a Carbondale Republican who
serves on the Joint Budget Committee, asked JBC staff for some follow-up
information about the training of correctional officers getting hired at
private prisons. "If I had a turnover rate like that, I would really
be concerned about the quality and training of the individuals that I
hire," Rankin said. The rate increase will allow CoreCivic to pay its
correctional officers a starting wage of $22 per hour, according to the
DOC. That's still $2 less than the starting wage for state employees. But
while the pay increase would probably somewhat help the turnover situation,
there are other reasons why CoreCivic is having a hard time retaining its
employees, said Justin Brakke, senior legislative budget and policy analyst
on JBC staff. "Housing could be an issue," Brakke told lawmakers
during Friday's hearing. "Work conditions could play into it. There's
a lot of different factors." In an email, CoreCivic spokesperson
Matthew Davio pointed out that staffing challenges were not unique to the Crowley
County and Bent County prisons. "Staffing correctional facilities is a
challenge that public and private facilities alike face in Colorado and
across the country," Davio wrote. "We're taking significant steps
to attract and retain talented people through various means - to counter
the current employment challenges so many employers are facing throughout
the country." State-run prison facilities do have their own staffing
issues. The Department of Corrections reported a turnover rate of 22.9% in
November 2021, according to a December presentation to the Joint Budget
Committee. CoreCivic has invested in commercial advertising, participated
in public events, and attempted to recruit community members through job
boards, military bases, local colleges, social media and local hiring
events, Davio said. "Corrections is a challenging career," he
wrote. "In order to keep facilities safe, candidates must be able to
pass background screenings. COVID restrictions to keep our staff and those
in our care safe often add to the staffing challenge." CoreCivic
offers benefits including health insurance, a 401(k) matching savings and
retirement plan, paid time off and education opportunities. The company's
leadership and human resources teams make an effort to talk with staff
about any issues or concerns they may have, Davio added. Tax revenue from
private prisons. Recently, a movement to close private, for-profit prisons
grew out of progressives' desire for the state to shift its approach to
criminal justice - away from locking people up for long sentences, and
toward reducing recidivism by providing people in prison with the services
they needed to safely reenter the community. In a world where
rehabilitation was emphasized over incarceration, criminal justice reform advocates
argued it didn't make sense for the state to keep supporting an industry
that benefits from filling prison beds. Private prison company GEO Group
abruptly closed the Cheyenne Mountain Re-entry Center in Colorado Springs
in March 2020, after Gov. Jared Polis said he wanted to close the facility
later that year. A 2021 study commissioned by state lawmakers concluded
that Colorado's prison population should be maintained and that all
remaining facilities should stay open, according to the La Junta Tribune-Democrat.
The study stemmed from 2020 legislation. Colorado's rural communities
heavily depend on the tax revenue from the remaining two private prisons,
the 2021 study found. In Crowley County, the correctional facility
generated 44% of property tax revenue and 42% of school district taxes. The
Bent County Correctional Facility generated 18.3% of Bent County's property
taxes and 25% of Las Animas School District taxes. Brakke's analysis for
the Joint Budget Committee also found that if the two prisons were to
close, the state would not have enough medium-security beds at other
facilities where it could move the inmates. "The private prisons are
fully managed by Core Civic," DOC spokesperson Annie Skinner said in
an email, when asked about the responsibilities of DOC versus CoreCivic in
relation to hiring and retention of employees at private prisons. "We
do have a Private Prison Monitoring Unit that works directly with those
facilities." When asked about how the DOC had addressed staffing concerns
at the private prisons, Skinner mentioned the per diem rate increase as
well as retention bonuses for CoreCivic staff. The department is using $1.3
million in federal funds, from coronavirus relief legislation that Congress
passed last year, to pay retention bonuses to staff at the Bent County and
Crowley County facilities.
Oct
28, 2020 koaa.com
Bent
County leaders worry potential prison closure could devastate local economy
It's
because of a recently passed Colorado House bill
LAS
ANIMAS, Colo. — Residents and leaders alike in one rural southeastern
Colorado community say the state is one decision away from bankrupting
their town. Now, they are hoping people will speak out, to keep it from
happening. If you find yourself in the town of Las Animas, chances are
you’re either passing through or paying a visit to Bent County’s largest
economic driver. “It is Bent County’s largest taxpayer as far as property
tax goes, it’s our largest municipal utility consumer, it’s our largest
employer,” Bent Commissioner Chuck Netherton. “It” is the Bent County
Correctional Facility. “It was built by the Bent County taxpayers in 1993,”
Netherton said. That was after the area’s previous economic driver, a VA
hospital, shut its doors. “Of course when it closed, our little town just
kind of fell apart,” Netherton said. “And that was why the citizens went
together and we built the prison.” Shortly after, the county sold it to a
private company to run. and because of that, this little town, and its
neighbors, are in danger of falling apart again. “That’s the main talk of
the town right now,” he said. “Everybody is just really scared.” It’s all
because of the recently passed Colorado House Bill 20-1019, which according
to its summary, concerns “measures to manage the state prison population.”
But leaders in Bent County say it’s aiming at doing one thing in
particular. “This original bill was to close private prisons by the year
2025,” Netherton said. That could mean, pending a feasibility study, the
bent county correctional facility could be shuttered. Leaders lobbied the
legislature, even met with Governor Jared Polis, who signed the bill into
law, to seek compromise. “What the governor had told me is, he thought that
the state would take it over,” Netherton said. If that’s the case, the
state wouldn’t have pay the county any property taxes. “There goes our
million and a half out of our 4 point something million dollar budget,” he
said. Which leaves leaders with only one thing left to say. “I think my
exact words were, he could be the first Governor in Colorado history to
bankrupt two of the poorest counties in the state of Colorado,” Netherton
said. Tuesday night was supposed to be the first of two community feedback
sessions as part of that feasibility study. Unfortunately, due to the
state’s new COVID-19 restrictions, that meeting had to be postponed.
Sep 9, 2020 chieftain.com
Nurse
sues Las Animas prison company
DENVER
-- A nurse who worked at the Las Animas prison alleges she lost her job as
retaliation for her complaints of discrimination and complaints about the
quality of patient care there. Dannette Karapetian’s allegations are in a
lawsuit based on federal anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws. The
case is in Denver at the U.S. District Court for Colorado. In court
filings, the operator of the privately owned Bent County Correctional
Facility denies her allegations. The operator, CoreCivic Inc., contends
Karapetian was removed from the work schedule for legitimate reasons. The
Bent County Democrat and its sister newspapers reviewed a court filing that
states both sides of the dispute. The nurse alleges a supervisor began in
2018 discriminating against her because the supervisor “was disgusted and
upset” that Karapetian had competed 25 years earlier in a bikini modeling
contest. Around the same time, the nurse “began expressing concerns (to
another supervisor) about the quality of patient care the inmates were
receiving,” the filing states. It goes on to say that a supervisor created
“a hostile work environment” and the nurse began making a series of formal
complaints within the company about it. In its side of the dispute,
CoreCivic contends in a court filing that Karapetian “was counseled or coached
regarding performance and behavior issues,” including
“undermining/interfering with correctional officers managing inmates,
inappropriately disclosing confidential information,” and being
“inappropriately familiar” with an inmate. The nurse contends she “was
never ‘counseled’” The company further contends the nurse was removed from
the work schedule later in 2018 because her nursing license had expired, a
reason which the nurse took issue with in her lawsuit. Karapetian wants a
jury to decide she is entitled to lost wages and other money from the
company for various reasons to compensate her for what allegedly happened.
The case is in an early stage of pre-trial activity between both sides.
Mar 26, 2020 coloradopolitics.com
Former
Colo. prison nurse files lawsuit against CoreCivic alleging sex
discrimination
A
former employee of the private prison operator CoreCivic has filed a
lawsuit alleging civil rights violations for gender-based discrimination
and retaliation against her while working in a prison in Colorado. Danette
Karapetian wrote in her complaint to the U.S. District Court for Colorado
that CoreCivic hired her as a licensed practical nurse in September 2017 to
provide medical care to inmates at the Bent County Correctional Facility.
She described how the nurses used nicknames while at work to prevent
prisoners from learning their real identities. When a coworker asked
Karapetian how she chose her nickname, “DJ,” she responded that she had
once competed in a bikini modeling competition and used that stage name.
After other employees heard the story, Karapetian said, “gossip and rumors”
spread. She noticed that her supervisor became “extremely and irrationally
angry” at Karapetian and the supervisor allegedly “began concocting a story
in her head that Ms. Karapetian was engaging in sexually inappropriate
flirting behavior with the inmates." In July 2018, Karapetian conveyed
her concerns about prisoner care to her supervisor, but the supervisor
purportedly became enraged at her interactions with inmates. When
Karapetian sought to make a complaint about the supervisor to the assistant
warden, another employee warned her, “I’m not threatening you. I’m telling
you. Stay away from” the supervisor. Karapetian went through with the
complaint. Subsequently, she alleges, the supervisor canceled routine blood
sugar tests for diabetic inmates. When Karapetian said that the affected
inmates were complaining about low blood sugar, the supervisor allegedly
countered, “Are you sure they’re here for the finger sticks, or are they
here for something else?” Karapetian took that to mean that the inmates
were seeking sexual relations with her rather than medical assistance. For
the rest of her employment, Karapetian wrote, the supervisor retaliated
against her, “both by looking for any reason to unjustifiably criticize Ms.
Karapetian’s job performance and by making Ms. Karapetian fear for her
safety so she would feel compelled to quit.” The supervisor eventually
removed Karapetian from the work schedule, saying that her nursing licence
had expired despite a grace period for renewal. CoreCivic allegedly told
her that it would conduct an investigation, but instead, the company never
returned her to the work schedule, thus ending her employment. Karapetian
claims that CoreCivic discriminated against her on the basis of sex in
violation of federal civil rights law and created a hositile work
environment for her. “After Plaintiff complained of discrimination and
retaliation in writing in late July 2018, Defendants continued to retaliate
against Plaintiff,” she wrote in her lawsuit, “including by subjecting
Plaintiff to disproportionate scrutiny, holding Plaintiff to higher
standards than her male peers, [and] holding Plaintiff to higher standards
than female peers who conformed to sex stereotypes." Karapetian also
cited retaliation after she raised concerns over patient care. A
spokesperson for CoreCivic responded that employees have multiple options
to report the types of conduct Karapetian said she experienced, including
by contacting human resources. "While we can't speak to the specifics
of pending litigation, CoreCivic does not tolerate any forms of sexual
harassment and takes these allegations very seriously," the
spokesperson said.
Oct 7, 2017 westword.com
$171K Payout in Dennis Choquette's Cruel Death Is the Tip of the Iceberg
The State of Colorado, acting for the Department of Corrections, has
agreed to pay a fairly modest $171,000 to settle a lawsuit in the
torturous, slow-motion, completely preventable jail death of Dennis
Choquette in November 2016. But Choquette's estate has also reached
confidential agreements with a slew of other defendants, including a giant
private-prison company that owns the facility where most of the horrors
took place. And given the disturbing facts of the case, which we first
outlined this past February, after the complaint was filed, the sum of the
settlements is almost certainly much, much larger. In July 2014, as we've
reported, Choquette was imprisoned in the Bent County Correctional Facility,
a jail in the portfolio of Corrections Corporation of America. CCA, whose
website currently lists thirteen jails or facilities in Colorado, including
the one in Bent County, is at the center of the 1999 feature article by
Alan Prendergast headlined "McPrison." And in 2013, Prendergast
tackled the topic again in "Thirty Years of Private Prisons: New
Report Details Trouble Behind Bars." In the latter post, about a
scathing condemnation of the firm by the group Grassroots Leadership,
Prendergast wrote that CCA was "launched in 1983 by a group of
Kentucky Fried Chicken investors" and has been criticized over the
years based on allegations that its "for-profit model cuts too many
corners, resulting in ill-trained and poorly paid staff," as well as
"inadequate medical care." John Holland, who worked on the case
under the auspices of Holland, Holland Edwards & Grossman, P.C.
alongside partner and co-counsel Anna Holland Edwards, believes that
Choquette's experiences definitely reinforce this last accusation.
"His case is the Magna Carta for the protection of the civil rights of
diabetics who are being incarcerated," he told us for our previous
post. "This is one of the things you fear most about jails — that you
have a clear medical need and no one will help you." The complete
lawsuit is accessible below, but here's how Holland summarized the sequence
of events. "Dennis had a history of diabetes," he noted. "He
had Charcot Syndrome, which is a terrible diabetic problem where basically
your bones can disintegrate. He'd had Charcot in his right foot, and that
had been successfully managed. He was still ambulatory. But he was
developing it in his left foot, too." In 2014, Choquette "went to
jail for his latest criminality, which was some kind of fraud charge,"
Holland continued. "When you're admitted, they send you through a
classification system. In that system, he talked about his problems, and
when they X-rayed his left foot, they discovered that he was developing
Charcot there, too. But they didn't tell him. Instead, they put him into a
private facility" — the jail in Bent County — "that had no
capacity to care for people who have ambulation problems. And they did it
knowing he had this foot condition."At Bent, Holland maintained,
"they made him walk on this foot for months, to the point where he
could feel his bones were breaking. But no one would help him. And when he
finally got to a hospital, his foot had progressed to the point where it
was no longer viable for ambulation. He had a known deteriorating
condition, and they walked him into making it worse." Despite being
kept in the dark about the Charcot diagnosis upon entering the Bent County
jail, Choquette knew something was wrong and actively advocated for medical
care via communication with authorities known by the slang term
"kites." Holland, Holland Edwards & Grossman got involved on
his behalf, too. "We filed suit," Holland said, "and one of
the complaints we made is that they basically destroyed his ambulation
through their indifference while hiding the condition from him. And when
they found out he needed an amputation, they didn't want to pay for it
while he was in jail. They considered the surgery to be elective." By
mid-2016, after Choquette was transferred to the Department of Corrections,
his foot "was basically rotting," Holland allowed. "But
still they wouldn't do anything. The key to his crisis was to get him
amputated while he was medically stable, but that didn't happen. They
wouldn't let him go to a specialist, and his leg basically opened into a
wound." Eventually, Choquette developed what Holland described as
"severe osteomyelitis" — an infection of the bone — "and
raging sepsis that forced their hand. He went to the hospital when he was
dying, basically. The doctors stabilized him as best they could, pumped him
with antibiotics and then went in and cut his leg off." By then, it
was too late. "Two days into his recovery, his diabetes and sepsis and
the major trauma he went through resulted in his heart failing, and he
died," Holland stated. The length of time that elapsed between
Choquette's entry into jail and his demise made the manner of his passing
even more tragic, in Holland's view. "This was a slow-motion death. In
some cases of people dying in jail, people come in and their condition is
exploding with urgency at that specific moment. But this was like watching
a slow torture unfold." Co-counsel Holland Edwards, who also spoke
with us in February, characterized the story as an example of a larger
problem. "What happened to Dennis is exactly what's wrong with health
care at corrections," she said. "They knew he had a condition,
and it was treatable. But they refused to help him or to intervene even
after we sued. Even when we brought to their attention that it was likely
to result in irreparable harm or death, they still didn't want to help him.
We went from trying to help our client to trying to figure out the value to
his estate of them having killed him." She argued that Choquette
"died of deliberate indifference to his medical needs. He died because
this Department of Corrections system and the Corrections Corporation of
America were reckless with his medical care. Certainly, he had underlying
medical conditions, like a lot of people in jail. He had diabetes and some
heart issues. But his foot should have never gotten to the point where he
needed amputation. He should still be alive today." The suit named a
total of 22 defendants, including numerous medical professionals charged
with overseeing Choquette's care under the auspices of Correctional Health
Partners, LLC, another private operation whose website says it manages
"inmate healthcare needs for county and state correctional facilities
and systems across the country." But the first entity on the
defendants roster is CCA, which has been sued frequently over the years and
works hard to prevent the size of its payouts from being made public.
Silence is the rule this time around, too. "With respect to Mr.
Choquette’s case, all claims brought by Mr. Choquette and his estate have
now been settled," writes Holland Edwards, corresponding via email.
"The settlement between the Department of Corrections and Mr.
Choquette’s estate is public because of the public nature of that agency.
With respect to the claims against several other private parties, the claims
against non-public defendants have now been confidentially settled."
For that reason, we don't know the compensation total in relation to
Choquette's death. But Holland Edwards hopes the resolution will resonate.
"Medical care in jails and prisons continues to be a national
scandal," she emphasizes. "Civil-rights cases continue to be
important to tell the stories of people affected."
Jul 23, 2017 chieftain.com
Author recounts years spent as a mental health counselor at Bent
Correctional Facility
Perhaps it's the depth and breadth of Sue Binder's life experiences
that enables her to be an effective behavioral health counselor. Binder has
worked as a house cleaner, sold Avon, as well as toys at Christmas. She's
worked as a newspaper reporter, including a stint as a correspondent for
The Pueblo Chieftain. She's taught college classes as a part-time associate
professor and operated her own mental health office. During much of that
time, Binder was raising her four children. Binder also has worked at writing.
She penned "Hands Down: A Domestic Violence Treatment Workbook,"
for the American Correctional Association in 2006. Binder also has written
poetry and short stories. Binder's latest work, however, deals with the 12
years she worked as a mental health/addictions counselor at the Bent County
Correctional Facility. Binder admits she has mixed feelings about her time
at the Bent facility. Those feelings are detailed in the book "Bodies
in Beds: Why Business Should Stay Out of Prisons," published by Algora
Publishing ($31.95 hardcover, $21.95 paperback or ebook). One misconception
Binder wanted to clear up was that she didn't begin to write the book until
after she had left her job at the Bent facility and the employment of
Corrections Corporation of America (now known as CoreCivic). Corrections
Corporation of America (CoreCivic) did not respond to multiple requests for
an interview. Binder originally began by writing short excerpts of her time
at the Bent facility, more as therapy than anything else. "I started
it after I left," Binder said. "It became a private thing."
Eventually Binder showed what she'd written to a woman who had edited some
of her previous work. "She said, 'Do more research. What are you
trying to say here?' Out of those discussions, I began researching,"
Binder said. "The book took me close to two years to write, with all
the revisions," Binder said. "Bodies in Beds" wasn't a
vanity press effort. Algora didn't pay Binder up front, either. Binder will
receive royalties from book sales. "I hope to be paid," Binder
said. "As long as I recoup my expenses, I'll be happy." Binder
said she had a little bit of money invested in the book in the form of
payments to an editor and to a lawyer who reviewed the manuscript. What
makes an individual devote the time, energy and financial resources into a
book project that may or not make any money? In Binder's case, she was
frustrated by her experience at the Bent facility and wanted to put it down
on paper. Binder feels CCA put profits ahead of the prisoners' welfare. She
writes that the emphasis on the bottom line led CCA to cut corners by
cheating the personnel and ignoring prisoners' health care needs. Add to
that the mountains of paperwork, she alleges, and it created unsafe
conditions because there often wasn't enough manpower to go around.
"My primary concern was from my role as a mental health provider while
I was at Bent County," Binder said. "I felt there was so much
lacking. Maybe it was a personal thing. I felt I wasn't able to do the kind
of work, the kind of interventions as a mental health person that I should
be doing with the offenders." Binder said when she was at Bent County
there were 444 classified mental health patients and more than 300 of them
were on medication. Three mental health counselors were assigned to deal
with the patients, she said, but often there were only two because of sick
leave or employee turnover. "Trying to do the work you need to do with
those inmates is really an impossible task," Binder said. "You want
to give them counseling and therapy." Often the time that should have
been devoted to counseling and therapy was devoted to filling out paperwork
for CCA or for the Colorado Department of Corrections, she said. "You
couldn't spend that time with those offenders to try and impact their
issues," Binder said. In reality, the situations and management
decisions Binder wrote about in "Bodies in Beds," were an
indictment of the operations not just of CCA, but of corporate America, as
well. Requests for assistance were either ignored or help would be promised
but never delivered, Binder writes. She remembered one supervisor coming
into her office and stating: "I just want you to know, I'm
micromanaging this department now." Similar exchanges occur in
corporate settings all over the country, frustrating the affected
employees. In Binder's case, the net result was that nothing changed for
the inmates/patients. The paperwork continued to pile on, and employees who
were hired for one job, found themselves buried in red tape, and quit out
of frustration. Often, it would take a lengthy amount of time to find a
replacement, or no replacement was hired. That would mean the remaining
counselors would be buried even deeper in paperwork, according to Binder.
More paperwork meant less treatment of inmates, a that situation bothered
Binder. "There are so many in the system," Binder said.
"Because of that, I just felt I wasn't able to help them in the way I
should, so they can get back on the street and be successful. "That
should be the goal, at least for most offenders." Binder concedes that
not all prisoners should be put back on the street. "There are some
offenders who should stay in, who are far too dangerous," Binder said
"I've had some tell me they shouldn't get out because, 'They'll do it
again.' " Binder said she experienced some successes, and for
those she takes great satisfaction. Yet, more and more, she said, prisons
are being used as asylums. "Unless inmates are on appropriate
medication, receive some treatment or counseling, they may not be able to
manage on the street without monitoring," Binder said. The result, she
said, is predictable. "They break a rule and go back to prison,"
Binder said. She believes the cycle benefited the private prisons because
it meant more bodies in beds. In retrospect, Binder said the title of her
book may be a bit too harsh. She doesn't call for the closing of private
prisons. What she's done in her book is advocate for change. But it's a big
change. "You can't put huge profits ahead of salvaging the people,"
Binder said. Binder resigned her position at the Bent facility take a job
closer to her home in Lamar. Her work at High Plains Community Health
Center involves helping individuals on probation or, once in a while,
someone on parole. The important thing about the job is that she gets to
counsel her patients without having to deal with a mountain of paperwork.
Looking back, Binder said she appreciated a lot of things the job at the
Bent facility did for her. "It paid good wages and benefits,"
Binder said. "I learned a lot from the experience. I learned a lot
about myself, too: the levels of stress, what works for me and doesn't work
so well. "I tried not to be all negative. There were some positive
things, too. I still have a lot of good memories." Binder said she
hasn't received much feedback on her book, either from employees at Bent or
from officials at CoreCivic. That's OK with Binder. She said what she had
to say.
Aug 21, 2013 The Pueblo Chieftan
DENVER
— The mother of an inmate who died at the Bent County prison claims a
Pueblo West physician and the company that runs the prison bear
responsibility for the death. oTNCMS_Ad.show('ros'); The physician, David
Oba, received a letter of admonition in December from the Colorado Medical
Board telling him that his treatment of the inmate “fell below the
generally accepted standards of practice.” Oba and the company, Corrections
Corporation of America, deny the allegations made in a lawsuit against them
by Terrell Griswold’s mother. He died in 2010 at the Bent County
Correctional Facility where Oba was a physician for the privately operated
prison. Prison staff and Colorado Department of Corrections employees are
additional defendants who also deny the allegations. The lawsuit is in its
early stage in U.S. District Court. The lawsuit alleges that Griswold, 25,
died because he was denied adequate medical care at the prison. It also
alleges DOC employees destroyed and falsified evidence, and conspired with
prison staff to cover up the true cause of his death. His mother, Lagalia
Afola, contends he died from complications of a complete urinary
obstruction. Oba began treating Griswold for urinary issues months before
he died. Afola alleges, among other things, that prison staff refused for
many months to provide medicine Oba prescribed for her son and the doctor
did nothing about it. Corrections Corporation, prison employees and Oba
contend Griswold died of cardiovascular disease. The medical board’s
admonition of Oba stated he “failed to recognize and take appropriate
action in connection with signs and symptoms of chronic kidney disease.” -
See more at: http://www.chieftain.com/home/1758744-120/prison-oba-died-death#sthash.RSGC1KcB.dpuf
September 12, 2012
AP
The mother of a man who died in a private prison claims that officials
failed to provide adequate medical care. Twenty-six-year-old Terrell
Griswold died in October 2010 after being found not breathing in his cell.
He was incarcerated at the Bent County Correctional Facility near Las
Animas, Colo., which is operated by Corrections Corporation of America. A
lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court by Lagalia Afola of Kansas
City, Mo., alleges that officials failed to treat her son for an obstructed
urinary tract. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages. Griswold was
serving five years for a felony burglary conviction. In a statement, CCA
says the company is committed to providing inmates appropriate access to
medical care and couldn't comment on individual inmates because of medical
privacy laws.
July 9, 2012 Bent
County Democrat
Bent County Commissioners met on June 27 and heard an encouraging report
from Bent County Correctional Facility, a private prison prison run by
Corrections Corporation of America. Even though 18 staff have been recently
laid off, population of the prison has increased to 1,388 which is almost
300 more prisoners in prison population. Commissioner Bill Long said he
felt that Gov. Hickenlooper and the state recognize the falling economy and
past damage to Bent County by the closing of Fort Lyon and are striving to
push for CCA to be operating at a higher population level. CCA administration
also feels the prison can be operated safely with this reduction in staff.
Long said that after the Crowley County prison riot six years ago, the
private prisons were required to increase staffing within their prisons.
But over this same time frame, the per diem per prisoner had not increased
a significant amount, but costs to operate the prison have risen and this
reduction in staff will help run the prison more economically but still
within a safe range. Long said he has been to the state capitol many times
and Bent has also hired a lobbyist to work for Bent County and he feels the
state leaders have heard this message.
June 15, 2012 Pueblo
Chieftain
Still reeling from the Colorado Department of Corrections’ closing of Fort
Lyon prison, residents here got word of more prison layoffs, this time at
the private Bent County Correctional Facility. According to Steve Owen,
public affairs officer with the Corrections Corporation of America, the
company laid off 18 employees at its Bent County Correctional Facility and
another 36 employees at the Crowley County Correctional Facility in Olney
Springs. "Our top priority is assisting our affected employees through
this transition. All of them are being offered the opportunity to transfer
to other CCA facilities and we hope that they choose that option,"
Owen said. Bent County Commissioner Lynden Gill said he had heard
“rumblings” about layoffs at the CCA-operated Bent County Correctional
Facility.
April 4, 2012 The
Chieftain
A report last week that Corrections Corporation of America needs a subsidy
from the state or it will start shedding jobs has caught the attention of
officials in Bent and Crowley counties. Las Animas is home to the Bent
County Correctional Facility, the city's largest employer at 280 employees.
Las Animas County Commissioner Bill Long said Tuesday that if CCA decided
to cut jobs or shut down the prison it would cripple the county. "It
would be an absolute disaster for Bent County," Long said. "To
first lose the Fort Lyon Correctional Facility, which used to be our
largest employer, and then possibly this, it just can't be described as
anything other than awful." Long said that in addition to the
correctional facility being the county's largest employer, it also is its
largest taxpayer at around $400,000 annually. He added that the prison
purchases its utilities from the city of Las Animas and has a monthly bill
around $80,000. Long said he and his fellow commissioners are getting word
from the state that no facilities are going to be shut down but that staff
reductions are certainly possible."We're unhappy that this is even
being proposed," he said. Olney Springs, which is home to the Crowley
County Correctional Facility that also is operated by the CCA, is another
correctional facility at risk of losing jobs.
March 29, 2012 Pueblo
Chieftain
Colorado’s declining prison population has imperiled two private prisons in
Southeastern Colorado, where the economy already is reeling from the recent
closure of a state-run prison. Savings from the pending closure of another
state-run prison in Southern Colorado could be used to prop up the
for-profit ventures. Corrections Corporation of America, which operates
Crowley County Correctional Facility in Olney Springs and Bent County
Correctional Facility in Las Animas, has notified the state that it needs a
subsidy or it will start shedding jobs, Gov. John Hickenlooper’s Chief of
Staff Roxane White said Wednesday. “CCA has said that if we don’t figure
something out they will be in a situation where they have to close a
prison,” she said. Similar threats loom at Kit Carson Correctional Center
in Burlington, which also is operated by CCA, and Cheyenne Mountain
Re-Entry Center in Colorado Springs, operated by Community Education
Centers Inc., according to White. “At both the CCA facilities and Cheyenne
Mountain, up to 20 percent of their beds are empty,” she said. “They are
looking at the need to make staffing reductions.” White confirmed that
diverting the estimated $4.5 million in savings the state expects to realize
next year from the pending closure of Colorado State Penitentiary II in
Canon City is one option, but she doubts that would be enough to satisfy
the private prison companies. “It’s not enough to cover it,” she said. “In
this case, we need in the neighborhood of $10 (million) to $15 million to
keep the (private) prisons all operational.” Ideally, White said, any
action by the private prison companies could be postponed while the state
conducts a thorough study of the factors driving the declining prison
population, whether the trend is likely to continue and how the state can
best manage its resources in light of the findings.
February 3, 2012 Denver
Post
Inmate Terrell Griswold's inability to urinate was never treated and
ultimately led to his death, a medical investigator says. "I feel very
strongly that if they treated this, he'd still be alive today," said
Shawn Parcells, a medical investigator and forensic pathologist assistant
from Kansas City, Mo., who was hired by Griswold's mother to review circumstances
leading to his death. Griswold, 26, was serving a three-year sentence for
theft at Bent County Correctional Facility. He was found slumped over a
toilet 12 hours after a nurse said he looked fine on Oct. 28, 2010, said
Griswold's mother, Lagalia Afola of Kansas City. "This is so
rare," Afola said. "For a young man to die of a urinary blockage
is unheard of. My son should not be dead." The prison is run by
Corrections Corporation of America, a private company. "We take the
medical care of inmates in our custody seriously," CCA spokesman Steve
Owen said in a written response. He could not comment about Griswold's case
because of confidentiality issues, he said. "But we do refer you to
the cause of death in the public record." The El Paso County coroner's
office determined that the cause of death was cardiac hypertrophy,
hypertension, obstructive uropathy and hereditary cardiac hypertrophy. The
coroner, Dr. Robert C. Bux, characterized Griswold's urinary condition as a
cause of death secondary to hypertension and an enlarged heart. However, he
added that the blockage could have caused hypertension and contributed to
an enlarged heart. Parcells said he believes Griswold's cause of death
should have been listed as "complications of obstructive uropathy."
A nodule on Griswold's prostatic urethra accounted for his urine retention
and severe kidney problems, Parcells wrote. It also caused high blood
pressure. He had been seen repeatedly by medical staff at the prison for
recurring bladder-related symptoms, including abdominal pain and an
inability to urinate. Griswold received medicines that didn't address his
condition and never got a thorough examination by a urologist, Parcells
said. "In the end, his body was not able to adjust to the increasing
amounts of waste products in his system and the heart had increasing loads
of 'fluid retention' it had to deal with," he wrote. "Terrell was
in metabolic disarray and an imbalance of electrolytes. This would explain
the sudden death." Afola said her son played basketball nearly every
day. She said in the last week of his life, he was sleeping a lot and
complaining of intense abdominal pain. Department of Corrections
spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said Griswold came to the prison with a
long history of neurological and urological issues. She said the state will
conduct a mortality review of the case. "CCA is committed to providing
inmates appropriate access to medical care and is held to high
standards," Owen said. Afola said her son died about three months
before he was to be released from prison. "He was just ignored,"
she said.
November 14, 2009 Pueblo
Chieftain
A state inmate being held at Bent Correctional Facility reportedly
committed suicide Nov. 1. According to Colorado Department of Corrections
spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti, the inmate was identified as Geoffrey A.
Scheid, 58. Cause of death was listed as asphyxiation by suffocation,
according to Warden Brigham Sloan. Scheid was serving a 19-year sentence on
second-degree assault and sexual assault on a child by a person in a
position of trust convictions out of Adams County, Sanguinetti said. The
Bent prison is a private medium-security prison operated by Corrections
Corporation of America.
September 17, 2009
Pueblo Chieftain
Officials in three Southern Colorado counties said Wednesday that Gov.
Bill Ritter's decision to release more than 6,000 inmates from state
Department of Corrections custody will be devastating to small communities
that house private prisons. Commissioners in Bent, Crowley and Huerfano
counties all have private prisons owned and operated by Corrections
Corporation of America. Ritter announced the Accelerated Transition Pilot
program in August. By June 30, an estimated 2,720 inmates out of 3,400
eligible for parole will be on the streets, saving the state $19 million in
prison housing costs. The next year, another 3,000-plus inmates could be
released. But Bent County Commissioner Bill Long said that the lion's share
of the proposed reduction would come from the private prisons in Crowley,
Bent and Huerfano counties. Long said the proposed releases will impact the
private facilities which were built at the request of the state. "If
they do what they have been talking about in the last few days, which is
5,000 to 6,000 inmates possibly being up for parole, that will empty
virtually every private prison in Colorado that has Colorado inmates,"
Long said. "I guarantee that this will be an absolute disaster for
Bent County and Crowley County. No question about it." The Crowley County
Correctional Facility in Olney Springs and the Bent County Correctional
Facility in Las Animas are key parts of their local economies with more
than 200 employees at each facility, Long said. "We receive property
tax, telephone revenue and other benefits from the facilities," Long
said. Long explained that the Huerfano County Correctional Facility in
Walsenburg and the Kit Carson Correctional Facility in Burlington also will
be hurt if the reduction occurs. Currently the Huerfano facility is full of
inmates from Arizona, but Long said that when Arizona gets its inmate
situation straightened out, the inmates will be taken back to that state.
"That would be another facility that was built primarily for Colorado
inmates that would also be emptied," Long said.
May 15, 2009 Lamar
Ledger
An escaped male convict, from Bent County Correctional Facility in Las
Animas, led authorities on a high speed chase through Bent County early
Wednesday afternoon. The convict, who is being identified as a 52 year-old
white male, appears to have escaped while working at a recycling center
said Las Animas Police Chief Don Trujillo. The convict appears to have
secured regular street clothing after escaping from supervision. At
approximately 12:55 p.m. he is believed to have attempted to car jack a
vehicle from in front of the Family Dollar store. The escapee is believed
to have fled southbound down Bent Avenue. The Police chief said the victim
was able to thwart the attack. “Within five to ten minutes of that
incident, we had a report of a stolen vehicle from the car wash,” said
Trujillo. The car wash is located in the 300 block of Second Street. A 1996
Chysler Concorde appears to have been stolen while the vehicle’s owner was
washing the floor mats said Trujillo. The suspect is believed to have then
fled eastbound on Highway 50 out of town. The police chief said when
officers were unable to locate the suspect in the area around the vehicle
theft, they moved the search east until the vehicle was spotted. The
ensuing chase along Highway 50 reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour
said Trujillo. The chase drew to an end near County Road 34 when two of the
tires on the stolen vehicle went flat. The suspect was then apprehended by
a Las Animas police officer said Trujillo. Assisting in the pursuit and apprehension
of the suspect were the Colorado State Patrol, the Bent County Sheriff’s
Office and the State Parks Department. Following the arrest, the suspect
was treated by EMTs on scene. Police Chief Trujillo said charges are
currently pending for the suspect. Trujillo said the notice of an escaped
convict was not given to the department until after the suspect was in
custody and the officers were attempting to ascertain the suspect’s
identity. The Bent County Correctional Facility is a privately owned, all
male, medium security, 1,466 bed facility located on the eastern edge of
the town of Las Animas. The facility is operated by Corrections Corporation
of America, a Tennessee based company. Phone calls to the warden of the
facility were not returned Wednesday. Officials at both the Las Animas
School District administration and the Las Animas High School said they
were not notified of the escaped inmate by the facility until after the
suspect’s apprehension. None of the schools in the district were placed on
lock down.
August 18, 2004
A former prison inmate in Las Animas alleged in a lawsuit Tuesday the
prison staff transported him on the floor of a van and did not give him
prescribed pain medication and proper care after surgery for a hernia.
Cornelius Jackson sued Corrections Corporation of America, the operator of
the state prison, in U.S. District Court for allegedly causing him severe
pain and bleeding. Five staff members of the private prison, the Bent
County Correctional Facility, also are defendants. Jackson said he was
operated on at a Denver hospital on Oct. 8. He claims the staff, contrary
to his doctor's instructions, did not give him prescribed pain medication
for 13 hours after he was released from the hospital. The lawsuit alleges
that the staff disobeyed the doctor's instructions to take Jackson to a
Colorado Department of Corrections institution that had appropriate medical
facilities for post-operative care. The lawsuit claims "cost-cutting
in the medical department has recently been a central focus and a major
concern for CCA." (Pueblo Chieftain)
August 1, 1999
A 24-year-old inmate escaped from the private prison. Officials believe he
may have stowed away on a trash truck. He is still at large. Earlier in the
month, another inmate who was working at the regional recycling center
escaped after hot-wiring a prison van. (Denver Post)
B.M. Moore Correctional Center, Overton, Texas
November 24, 2005 Disability
Compliance Bulletin
A corrections officer sued her former employer, Corrections Corp. of America,
claiming it failed to accommodate her disability after a work-related
vehicular accident. (Cole v. Corrections Corp. of America, No. 05-cv-00411
(E.D. Texas complaint filed 10/31/05).) The case was originally filed in
the District Court of Rusk County, Texas, where it was case number
2005-450. The lawsuit, which alleges violations of Title I of the ADA and
Texas state law, seeks back pay, compensation for emotional pain,
inconvenience and mental anguish, court costs and attorney's fees. Cole, a
corrections office at the B.M. Moore Correctional Center in Overton, Texas,
was injured in a vehicular accident during the scope of her employment. The
accident, which occurred in July 2004, left her with wrist, back, hip and
leg injuries. The complaint charges that over the next year, Cole was
repeatedly discriminated against on the basis of her disability, and
classified in a manner that would deprive her of opportunities for
advancement.
Bradshaw State
Jail, Henderson, Texas
Feb 16, 2018 setexasrecord.com
Visitor alleges Corecivic Inc.'s negligence caused fall at Bradshaw
State Jail
TYLER – A Long Branch woman alleges she fell in the visitor's restroom
at a jail facility because of water on the floor. Charmayne Jett filed a
complaint on Jan. 31 in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas
against Corecivic Inc., formerly known as Corrections Corp. of America,
alleging negligence. According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that
on May 13, 2016, she was injured while at the defendant’s building located
at the Bradshaw State Jail facility when she slipped and fell in water that
had accumulated on the visitor's restroom floor. She alleges she suffered
pain, mental anguish, impairment, medical expenses and lost earning
capacity because of the incident. The plaintiff holds Corecivic Inc.
responsible because the defendant allegedly negligently allowed individuals
traverse the property with a known unreasonably dangerous condition and
failed to take appropriate precautions or warnings to prevent harm to such
individuals. The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks damages
within the jurisdictional limits of the court, pre- and post-judgment
interest, costs of court and such other and further relief, both general
and special. She is represented by Marc C. Mayfield of Mayfield Law Office
in Longview.
June 16, 2009 Tyler Morning Telegraph
A prison guard at the Bradshaw State Jail has been arrested after it was
alleged she performed sexual acts on a male prisoner and gave him money.
Rusk County Precinct 5 Justice of the Peace Bob Richardson arraigned Hether
Nicole Bargsley, 32, last Friday on the charges of violations of civil
rights of a person in custody by sexual contact and prohibitive substance
in a correctional facility. According to court documents, Bargsley
allegedly performed a sexual act with a male Bradshaw State Jail inmate on
April 25 in a doorway to one of the prison's dormitories. As the
investigation continued, Bargsley told officials she did in fact perform
the sex act and added she also had given the inmate $200 in currency at
different times. The court documents state the offender involved has
corroborated Bargsley's story. The violation of civil rights is a state
jail felony and the prohibitive substance charge is a third-degree felony.
Richardson set the woman's bonds at $7,500 and $10,000 respectively. Steve
Owen, a spokesman for Corrections Corporation of America, which runs the
private facility, said Bargsley was hired as a guard on Sept. 22, 2008, and
was terminated June 11. Owen said he could not discuss the specifics of the
case citing an ongoing investigation.
January 23, 2008 Longview
News-Journal
An inmate at Bradshaw State Jail in Henderson was found dead in his
cell this past week, a Texas Department of Corrections spokesman said.
Gregory Cole, 30, was discovered hanging by a bed sheet from the light
fixture in his cell at about 11 a.m. Jan. 15, said Jason Clark. Jail
personnel performed emergency care on Cole, and he was taken to a hospital.
He was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m. In June 2006, Cole was sentenced to 10
years in state jail for possession and intent to deliver a controlled
substance in McLennan County, Clark said. The spokesman did not know where
Cole lived. Clark said investigators with the attorney general's office
were notified of the death. He said the attorney general's office always is
notified when an inmate dies. A call to the AG's office was not returned
Tuesday.
Bullitt County MacDonald's, Mount
Washington, Kentucky
November 15, 2008 Courier-Journal
A judge has ordered McDonald's Corp. to pay $2.4 million in attorney fees
and costs to Louise Ogborn, the Bullitt County woman who last year won a
$6.1 million verdict in her strip-search hoax lawsuit against the company.
Citing Ogborn's lawyers' "incredible success," Senior Judge Tom
McDonald approved fees of $934,325 for the lead trial lawyer, Ann
Oldfather, and $311,250 to Kirsten Daniel, her co-counsel, as well as
$25,000 in sanctions against McDonald's for misconduct in the litigation.
Daniel said yesterday that she and Oldfather were ecstatic about the award.
"We got everything we asked for," she said. Margaret Keane, a
partner at Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, which defended the restaurant
company, declined to comment, and a spokesman for McDonald's didn't respond
to a request for comment. The fees were awarded to Ogborn on top of the
October 2007 verdict, under a provision of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act
designed to promote vigorous advocacy for plaintiffs. She now can use that
money to satisfy all or some of what she owes to her lawyers under their
employment contracts. Specifics about those contracts have not been made
public. McDonald's had vigorously protested the fee request, saying
Ogborn's lawyers couldn't have possibly worked the hours they claimed. But
Judge McDonald, who oversaw the trial in Bullitt Circuit Court, said that
if the plaintiff's lawyers worked long hours, it was because the company
forced them to, by fiercely contesting every motion and delving so deeply
into Ogborn's private life. "McDonald's should not be heard to
complain now that the plaintiff's counsel worked too hard, when, to a large
degree, those decisions were driven by McDonald's," the judge said.
Oldfather has said that McDonald's disclosed that it spent about $3.6 million
on fees defending itself. The judge also rejected the company's motion to
stipulate that a portion of the fees and costs be paid by the person who
made the hoax calls, noting that the jury did not return a verdict against
him. Ogborn, a teenager who worked for $6.35 an hour at McDonald's Mount
Washington store, was detained, stripped and sexually assaulted on April 9,
2004, at the behest of a caller who pretended he was a police officer and
accused her of stealing a customer's purse. She sued the company, saying it
failed to protect her, though company officials knew of dozens of similar
episodes at its stores and other fast-food restaurants. After a four-week
trial, a Bullitt Circuit Court jury returned a verdict that included $5
million in punitive damages. McDonald's has appealed, and the case is
pending at the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Keane argued for the company that
Ogborn's lawyers achieved only limited success at trial because they had
asked the jury for $100 million in damages. But Judge McDonald said
"the jury placed the blame squarely at McDonald's corporate
feet," and that the $1 million awarded to Ogborn in compensatory
damages was five times higher than a Bullitt County jury had ever returned
in a similar case. The judge also said that if Oldfather hadn't asked for
$100 million, "who can say that without that large an amount the jury
may not have ended up where it did?" The court's order included
$212,000 to two lawyers who formerly worked with Oldfather -- Lea Player
and Doug Morris -- and $173,000 to Bill Boone and Steve Yater, two lawyers
who originally filed the suit but were later fired by Ogborn. McDonald also
ordered the fast-food company to reimburse Ogborn's lawyers for $495,000 in
expenses. The sensational hoax case captured national attention. Stripped
of her clothes and able to cover herself only with a store apron, Ogborn
was forced to spend hours in the restaurant office, as a security camera
recorded her humiliation. Ogborn was detained by an assistant manager,
Donna Jean Summers, who said a man claiming to be a police officer had
called and accused an employee resembling Ogborn of theft. Summers
subsequently called her then-fiancé, Walter Wes Nix Jr., who sexually
abused Ogborn at the caller's direction. McDonald's claimed it bore no responsibility
for what happened to Ogborn and that the blame lay with others, including
the caller, Nix, Summers and Ogborn herself. She was one of dozens of
victims of a hoax caller who over more than a decade duped managers at as
many as 160 fast-food restaurants and other stores into strip-searching and
sexually humiliating employees. Many of those workers sued their employers,
but Ogborn's suit was the first whose case went to trial. Nix was later
convicted of sexual abuse and other crimes and sentenced to five years in
prison. Summers entered an Alford plea to misdemeanor unlawful
imprisonment, meaning she asserted her innocence while acknowledging there
was enough evidence to convict her. She was placed on probation. Summers
joined in Ogborn's suit against McDonald's, saying she was tarnished with a
criminal conviction because the company had failed to warn her and other
employees about the hoax calls. The jury awarded Summers $1.1 million. The
caller was never brought to justice. A Bullitt County jury in 2006
acquitted David R. Stewart, a former private prison guard from the Florida
panhandle, in the case. He'd been charged with impersonating an officer and
soliciting sexual abuse for calling the Mount Washington store. Law
enforcement officers said at the time that they suspected him of making the
other calls as well.
November 1, 2006 AP
Prosecutors couldn’t convince a central Kentucky jury to convict a Bay County
man accused of making a hoax phone call that lasted 3½ hours and ended in a
bizarre sexual assault of a teenage McDonald’s worker. The jury on Tuesday
acquitted David R. Stewart, 38, of Fountain, on charges of impersonating a
police officer, soliciting sodomy and soliciting sexual abuse relating to a
phone call made to the Mount Washington, Ky., restaurant in which former
employees testified that the caller told them to conduct a strip-search of
a worker in April 2004. Steve Romines, Stewart’s lawyer, said the jury’s
verdict showed the weakness of the prosecution’s case. “There are a lot of
questions unanswered in this case,” he said. “The only thing I knew for
sure was my client didn’t do it.”
October 31, 2006 Courier-Journal
Bullitt County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Mann implored jurors
Tuesday to “follow the evidence” and convict a Florida man charged with
being the mastermind behind an elaborate hoax that led to a McDonald’s
worker being strip-searched and sexually humiliated. “It’s so obvious,”
Mann told jurors in his closing arguments this morning. “There is more than
enough evidence to find the defendant guilty.” An hour earlier, defense
attorney Steve Romines said his client, David R. Stewart, was the “fall
guy” for a botched police investigation. “They came to a conclusion then
went about looking for facts to support it,” said Romines, who also told
jurors that there was more evidence that this hoax was itself a “scam.”
“There’s not even proof beyond a reasonable doubt that this is real,” he said.
Stewart is accused of calling the restaurant on April 9, 2004, and
directing an assistant manager to search and detain Louise Ogborn, who the
caller said was accused of stealing a purse. During a 3½ ordeal after that,
Ogborn was sexually abused by the manager’s then-fiancé, who later pled
guilty but said he’d been acting on the orders of a caller posing as an
officer. Stewart, charged with impersonating a police officer and
soliciting sodomy, faces up to 15 years in prison on the two felony
charges.
October 22, 2006 News
Herald
The 19-year-old woman stripped naked in front of her boss in the manager’s
room at the Winn-Dixie on 23rd Street more than three years ago because a
voice on the phone said so. The teenager posed. She exposed. She did
jumping jacks nude. For nearly two hours, a man who said he was a police
officer orchestrated her humiliation over the phone. The voice told the
girl’s boss, assistant manager James Marvin Pate, that she stole a purse.
Police believe the man on the phone was David R. Stewart, of Fountain, said
Sgt. Kevin Miller, of the Panama City Police Department. Authorities said
Stewart, 39, made dozens of calls like this across the country for several
years. The phone hoaxes sparked lawsuits against restaurant franchisees and
chains like McDonald’s, Burger King and Applebee’s. Stewart’s first trial
is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Mount Washington, Ky. In the Kentucky
case, Stewart is accused of calling a McDonald’s on April 9, 2004, and
posing as a police officer. Police said he told McDonald’s assistant
manager Donna Summers a story similar to what the voice told the manager at
the Panama City Winn-Dixie: He said a teenage female employee, Louise
Ogborn, had stolen a purse and that she needed to be strip-searched.
Summers and her ex-boyfriend, Walter Nix Jr., strip-searched Ogborn for
about four hours, police said. Nix also had Ogborn perform sexual acts on
him — all at the request of the caller. Mount Washington authorities
charged Stewart with three counts of solicitation to commit sexual abuse,
first degree; solicitation to commit sodomy, first degree; impersonating a
police officer; and solicitation unlawful imprisonment, second degree.
Incidents since the ’90s: Authorities said Stewart has peppered the country
with calls dating back to the mid-1990s, mostly to chain restaurants.
Usually, the man calls, identifies himself as a police officer, and says a
female employee has drugs or has stolen something and must be
strip-searched. In Panama City, the nightmare for a 19-year-old cashier
began on July 12, 2003, at Winn-Dixie, when a fellow employee told her to
report to the manager’s office, according to a PCPD incident report.
According to the police report, which blacked out the name of the victim,
what happened next lasted nearly two hours: Assistant manager Pate, 39, was
waiting and handed her the phone. On the line was a man who said he was
Officer Tim Peterson with the Panama City Police Department. The voice said
she stole a purse and gave her two choices: Either strip naked in front of
Pate or be brought down to the jail, where she’d be strip-searched in front
of a lot more people. The voice also said Pate had the authority to keep
her there and strip-search her, while the voice verified everything over
the phone. The cashier agreed. Pate told her what to take off, and she
complied out of fear of being taken to jail. She placed each item of
clothing in a plastic bag. Pate described the cashier’s naked body in
intimate detail to the voice on the phone, according to the police report.
The voice commanded the cashier to pose in various positions that exposed
her breasts, anal and vaginal areas to Pate. Toward the end of the woman’s
ordeal, grocery manager Thomas Moton, 49, entered the office looking for a
a key to unload a truck at the store’s rear dock. When he entered, the
cashier was doing jumping jacks, and Pate had the receiver to his ear.
“Pate said the boss is on the phone,” Moton said. “I thought the store
manager was on the phone.” Moton said he thought something wasn’t right. He
wanted to get the other assistant manager, but Pate said the voice on the
phone told him to stay. The cashier went through several poses, Moton said.
“She was bending over, sitting in a chair and doing jumping jacks,” he
said. When the woman finally was allowed to leave, she put her clothes on
and rushed out the door. Moton mentioned to Pate that “if this ain’t what
it’s supposed to be, then you are out of here.” A short time later, police
tore into the parking lot and hauled off Pate in handcuffs. Police charged
Pate with lewd and lascivious behavior and false imprisonment. The charges
eventually were dropped, Miller said. Moton said he never saw the cashier
again after that night. “I didn’t even want to look her in face,” he said.
“It was so embarrassing.” Police track the caller: The caller contacted
several Wendy’s restaurants on Feb. 20, 2004, in the West Bridgewater,
Mass., area, said Detective Sgt. Victor Flaherty of the West Bridgewater
Police Department. West Bridge water is a suburb of Boston. “We had four
incidents in one night,” Flaherty said. “Some conversations lasted more
than an hour and a half.” Like the others, calls involved strip-searches of
female employees, Flaherty said. By this time, however, the trail was
leading back to Stewart, authorities said. After a story appeared in a
restaurant industry magazine about what happened in West Bridgewater,
Flaherty was flooded with calls from police agencies across the country.
Detective Buddy Stump of the Mount Washington Police Department called
Flaherty. Stump was looking for help tracing the call to the McDonald’s
where Ogborn was strip-searched. Flaherty traced the calls made to West
Bridgewater back to the Panama City area. He called the Panama City Police
Department and asked for help, Miller said. Andrea McKenzie, a former
detective with the PCPD and now an investigator with the state attorney’s
office, helped link Stewart to the calls. McKenzie said she fielded calls
from police agencies all over the country. “It was kind of shocking,” she
said. “People said the phone number was coming from the Panama City area.”
When the investigation uncovered that some of the calls were made using a
phone card, authorities got the break they needed. “Nothing in this world
is untraceable, if you put the time into it,” Flaherty said. McKenzie
tracked the date and time of when the phone cards were bought to the
Wal-Mart on 23rd Street. She pulled security video. On the video was a man
wearing a uniform from the local jail run by Corrections Corporation of
America, McKenzie said. Stewart was identified as the jail guard shown on
the video, authorities said, and police brought him to the PCPD to be
interrogated by Flaherty, who flew in from Massachusetts. When police
arrested Stewart, they found numerous police magazines and applications to
police departments, Miller said. “This guy wanted to be a cop in the worst
way,” Flaherty said. Stewart’s attorney, Steve Romines, said there is no
way his client could have been the voice on the phone. “To talk someone into
this — it is someone more eloquent than David (Stewart),” Romines said.
“He’s not dumb, but this was very sophisticated.” Flaherty disagreed with
Romines’ assessment. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and there is no
doubt in my mind” that Stewart did it, Flaherty said. Authorities
eventually extradited Stewart in the fall 2004 from Bay County to Mount
Washington to stand trial. Panama City police didn’t go after Stewart
because they couldn’t link him to the call to the Winn-Dixie, Miller said.
Other states, meanwhile, are awaiting the outcome of the Kentucky trial
before pursuing legal action against Stewart, Flaherty said. “Oregon is
still interested in him,” Flaherty said. “In Massachusetts, I consider it a
rape by him.”
August 25, 2006 The
Courier-Journal
Nearly half of Bullitt County residents think that David Stewart is
guilty of masterminding the telephone hoax at the Mount Washington
McDonald’s in which a teenage employee was strip-searched and sexually
humiliated in April 2004, according to survey conducted to support
Stewart’s motion to move his trial. But Bullitt Circuit Judge Thomas Waller
indicated Friday he will deny the motion and try to empanel an impartial
jury on Oct. 24, when the case is set for trial. Stewart is charged with
impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy for allegedly calling
the restaurant and pretending to be a police officer investigating a theft.
As a result of the call, employee Louise Ogborn, then 18, was forced to
take off her clothes and sodomize a man that Stewart allegedly asked to
watch her. Stewart’s lawyer, Steve Romines, asked for a change of venue,
citing numerous newspaper and TV stories that have mentioned Stewart is
suspected of making calls to as many as 70 other restaurants and stores in
30 states. He hasn’t been charged in any of those incidents, and Romines
said evidence concerning them would be inadmissible at Stewart’s trial.
Stewart, a former corrections officer at a private prison near Panama City,
Fla., attended a hearing before Waller yesterday but did not speak in
court. Romines declined to let him answer questions from reporters.
June 17, 2006 AP
Detective Buddy Stump couldn't believe the story being told. A teenage
worker at the local McDonald's had been strip-searched and sexually
assaulted by co-workers. The co-workers said a policeman called the
restaurant, described the girl and directed them about what to do.
"I'm thinking, 'They told you to do what?'" said Stump, one of 16
police officers in Mount Washington and the department's only detective.
The investigation that grew from that night would lead to a plea by a
former employee of McDonald's, and the arrest of a Florida man on charges
of impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy. The trial of David
R. Stewart, 38, of Florida, was previously scheduled to begin this week but
has been postponed to Sept. 5. In handwritten court filings, Stewart denies
being the hoax caller. He is free on $50,000 cash bond. Mailings to the
Bullitt Circuit Court indicate he is still living in Florida. "I had
nothing to do with any of this," Stewart said. "I did not do
this." A judge has ordered the attorneys involved in the case not to
discuss it publicly before the trial. Stump and other investigators in
states from Maine to Wyoming to Arizona say they believe their
investigation stopped a cruel and bizarre series of hoaxes. Private
investigator R.A. Dawson of Rapid City, S.D., who investigated a similar
incident, said he had found 70 other cases resembling the one in Kentucky.
"The M-O's were all similar," Dawson said. "And, they seemed
to get increasingly worse." In court filings, McDonald's has denied
any wrongdoing, but has declined to comment on the case, citing a pending
civil case.
February 22, 2006 Courier-Journal
The assistant manager who led the April 2004 strip-search of a teenager at
a Bullitt County McDonald's received probation yesterday after the victim
said she thought the manager was duped and was herself a victim. Over the
prosecutor's objection, Donna Jean Summers was placed on one year's
probation by Bullitt District Court Judge Rebecca Ward. The county
attorney's office had asked that Summers be jailed for a year. Summers entered
an Alford plea to misdemeanor unlawful imprisonment, meaning she maintained
her innocence while acknowledging there was enough evidence to convict her.
Ward said a jury, which was scheduled to hear the case today, probably
would have convicted Summers and recommended that she be incarcerated. But
the judge said she accepted victim Louise Ogborn's recommendation for
leniency to spare Ogborn from testifying, saying "she's already gone
though a lot." Summers detained Ogborn, then 18, and took away her
clothes after a man pretending to be a police officer called the Mount
Washington fast-food restaurant and said an employee resembling Ogborn had
taken a customer's purse. Despite the disposition, Summers left the
courthouse in tears, saying she still holds McDonald's responsible for
failing to warn employees of strip-search hoaxes at its other restaurants.
She has said she never would have detained Ogborn had she known of previous
hoaxes. Ward said she was imposing probation in part because Ogborn still
must testify against the man charged with making the phone call, David N.
Stewart, a former private prison guard from Fountain, Fla. Stewart is
scheduled to be tried April 18 in Bullitt County on charges of
impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy. Law-enforcement
officials have said they suspect Stewart was behind at least 69 other
hoaxes at businesses in 32 states from 1995 through 2004. He has been
charged only in Bullitt County and has pleaded not guilty. Ogborn was
detained for nearly four hours and was slapped on the buttocks, humiliated
and forced to sodomize Summers' then-fiancé, Walter Nix Jr. Nix pleaded
guilty Feb. 2 to sexual abuse, sexual misconduct and unlawful imprisonment
and agreed to a five-year prison sentence. Summers called off their
engagement after she reviewed a store surveillance video showing what Nix
did to Ogborn. Nix also said he was following the orders of a man he
thought was a police officer.
February 2, 2006 Courier-Journal
The Bullitt County man who claimed he thought he was following a police
officer’s orders when he sexually humiliated a teenaged McDonald’s worker
in April 2004 pleaded guilty this morning to sexual abuse, sexual
misconduct and unlawful imprisonment. A charge of sodomy, which could have
sent Walter W. Nix Jr., to prison for 20 years, was dropped as part of a
plea bargain to which he agreed to a five-year prison term. Nix, who will
be formally sentenced on March 15, agreed not to seek probation at
sentencing, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Mike Mann agreed to take no
position on shock probation, which could be granted later. Nix is the first
person to be convicted in the 2004 hoax at the Mount Washington McDonald’s
in which Louise Ogborn, a $6.35 hour counter worker, was strip-searched and
sexually humiliated for nearly four hours after a man pretending to be a
police officer called the store and said he was investigating the theft of
a purse from a customer. Nix, 43, was scheduled to be tried today before
Bullitt Circuit Judge Tom Waller. The judge asked Ogborn if she supported
the plea bargain and if so why. She said she did because it will require
Nix to serve time in prison, to register as a sex offender and to testify
against David N. Stewart, the alleged perpetrator of the hoax. Stewart, a
former private prison guard from Fountain, Fla., is scheduled to be tried
April 18 on charges of impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy
for allegedly making the hoax call. Law enforcement officials have said
they suspect Stewart was behind at least 69 other hoaxes at businesses in
32 states from 1995 through 2004. He has been charged only in Bullitt
County, and has pleaded not guilty.
December 7, 2005 Courier-Journal
The trials of the three people charged in connection with the sexual
humiliation of a teenage McDonald's employee in Bullitt County during a
hoax last year have been postponed: David N. Stewart, 38, of Fountain,
Fla., who was scheduled to stand trial Dec. 13 in Bullitt Circuit Court on
charges of impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy, now will
be tried on April 18. Walter W. Nix, 43, who also was scheduled for trial
Dec. 13 on charges of sodomy and assault, has been rescheduled for trial
Feb. 1. Donna Jean Summers, 51, who is charged with unlawful imprisonment,
a misdemeanor, and was to be tried today, is set for trial Feb. 22. All
three have pleaded not guilty. Stewart is accused of calling the Mount
Washington restaurant on April 9, 2004, and, while pretending to be a
police officer investigating a theft, inducing Summers, a McDonald's
assistant manager, to strip-search Louise Ogborn, then 18. Summers later
called Nix, her fiance at the time, to the store to watch Ogborn. Nix has
admitted in court that he forced Ogborn to sodomize him and engage in
humiliating exercises, but he has said he was following the orders of the
caller, who he thought was a police officer. Summers, who was fired, also
has said that she was following orders, and that McDonald's is at fault for
having failed to alert employees about similar hoaxes at stores. Stewart, a
former private prison guard, is suspected by law enforcement officers of
pulling similar hoaxes at 69 other businesses from 1995 through last year,
but so far he has been charged only in Bullitt County.
November 3, 2005 Courier-Journal
The Bullitt County man who claimed a hoax caller duped him into
sexually humiliating a teenage McDonald's employee at the restaurant last
year apologized to his victim yesterday and said he was ashamed of what he
did "I had no intention of hurting anyone," Walter W. Nix Jr.,
43, said in Bullitt Circuit Court to Louise Ogborn, whom he forced to
sodomize him in April 2004. Nix has said he was following the orders of the
caller, who he thought was a police officer. But Judge Tom Waller refused
to accept a deal in which Nix had offered to plead guilty to a reduced
charge of sexual misconduct and unlawful imprisonment in exchange for a
sentence of one year's probation. Waller let Nix withdraw his plea and set
his trial on charges of sodomy and assault for Dec. 13. That's the same day
that David N. Stewart, a former private prison guard from Fountain, Fla.,
is scheduled to stand trial on charges of impersonating a police officer
and soliciting sodomy for allegedly perpetrating the hoax during a call to
the Mount Washington restaurant. Law enforcement officials have said they
suspect Stewart was behind at least 69 other hoaxes pulled off at other
businesses in 32 states from 1995 through last year. He has been charged
only in Bullitt County and pleaded not guilty there.
November 2, 2005 Courier-Journal
Bullitt Circuit Judge Tom Waller this morning rejected a plea agreement for
a man who admitted sexually humiliating a teenager who was strip-searched
last year at the Mount Washington McDonald's where she worked. Walter Nix
Jr., 43, pleaded guilty last month to unlawful imprisonment and sexual
misconduct as part of a plea bargain that would have given him one year
probation. The deal fell through after Louise Ogborn, 19, who was forced to
sodomize Nix as part of telephone hoax at the store on April 9, 2004,
objected to portions that allowed Nix to deny wrongdoing and to avoid
registering as a sex offender. Judge Waller set Nix's case for Dec. 13.
Ogborn was detained for nearly four hours in the hoax, which was one of 70
perpetrated in 32 states from 1995 through last year. A private prison
guard, David N. Stewart, of Fountain, Fla., was charged in July 2004 with
impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy in the Mount
Washington case. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial Dec. 13.
November 2, 2005 Courier-Journal
A teenager who was strip-searched in April 2004 at the Mount Washington
McDonald's where she worked is objecting to terms of the plea bargain
struck for the man who admitted sexually humiliating her. As part of the
agreement, Walter Nix Jr., 43, pleaded guilty last month to unlawful
imprisonment and sexual misconduct, and was to be sentenced today in
Bullitt Circuit Court to one year's probation under those charges. But
Louise Ogborn, 19, who was forced to sodomize Nix as part of telephone hoax
at the store on April 9, 2004, objects to portions of the deal that allowed
him to deny wrongdoing and to avoid registering as a sex offender,
according to lawyers for both sides. "The deal will not go through,"
said William C. Boone Jr., Ogborn's co-counsel. Nix's lawyer, Kathleen
Schmidt, said she will ask Judge Tom Waller to enforce the plea agreement
today. If he doesn't, Nix will have the option of withdrawing his plea and
going to trial, or accepting an agreement with harsher terms. Nix had been
charged with sodomy and assault, which carry penalties of up to 20 years in
prison. Nix has claimed he was duped into humiliating Ogborn by a man who
called the McDonald's pretending to be a police officer investigating a theft.
Nix was engaged at the time to the store's assistant manager, Donna Jean
Summers, who, at the behest of the caller, had taken away Ogborn's clothes
before calling Nix in to help watch the teen. Nix has said the man on the
phone ordered him to direct Ogborn to do exercises in the nude and perform
oral sex on him. He said he also slapped her several times on the buttocks
at the direction of the caller. Ogborn was detained for nearly four hours
in the hoax, which was one of 70 perpetrated in 32 states from 1995 through
last year. A private prison guard, David N. Stewart, of Fountain, Fla., was
charged in July 2004 with impersonating a police officer and soliciting
sodomy in the Mount Washington case. He has pleaded not guilty and is set
for trial Dec. 13. ABC Primetime is scheduled to broadcast a segment Nov.
10 about the Mount Washington case, according to Yater, who said Ogborn was
interviewed for it last week by a producer and reporter John Quinones.
October 11, 2005 Courier-Journal
A Bullitt County man who claimed he was duped into sexually humiliating a
teenage McDonald's worker last year by a man impersonating a police officer
pleaded guilty yesterday to a felony charge of unlawful imprisonment. In a
plea bargain approved by his victim, Walter Nix Jr., 43, will get probation
after agreeing to a one-year term for the felony and for sexual misconduct,
a misdemeanor. He originally was charged with sodomy and assault, for which
he could have been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Bullitt Circuit Judge
Tom Waller tentatively accepted the plea pending formal approval of it by
victim Louise Ogborn at Nix's sentencing, set for Nov. 2. Nix was engaged
at the time to the store's assistant manager, Donna Jean Summers, who asked
him to come watch Ogborn. A man who phoned the store pretending to be a
police officer accused Ogborn of theft and ordered her strip-searched.
According to police and court records, Nix said he thought he was following
an officer's orders when he directed Ogborn, who was detained four hours in
the restaurant's office, to do exercises in the nude and perform oral sex
on him. He also slapped her several times on her buttocks, at the direction
of the caller, the records show. The incident was the focus of a
Courier-Journal story Sunday that noted that the strip-search was among at
least 70 performed at fast-food restaurants and other businesses from 1995
through 2004 at the direction of a caller who claimed he was investigating
crimes. Ogborn agreed to be identified by name in the newspaper. A private
prison guard, David N. Stewart, of Fountain, Fla., was charged in July 2004
with impersonating a police officer and soliciting sodomy in the Mount
Washington case. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is set for Dec.
13. Summers is charged with unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor, and her
trial is scheduled for Dec. 7. She also has pleaded not guilty. Ogborn's
co-counsel, William C. Boone Jr., said his client approved the deal because
"she wants somebody to say they are sorry and for somebody to say she
did nothing wrong," both of which he said Nix has promised to say at
sentencing. "She is tired of McDonald's blaming her for what
happened," Boone said. In a lawsuit, Ogborn has alleged that the
company failed to warn employees at the Mount Washington store about prior
strip-search hoaxes at other restaurants around the country. McDonald's has
said in court papers and through its lawyer that Ogborn was in part
responsible because she failed to realize the caller wasn't a real officer.
Nix and Summers were among at least 13 people across the United States
charged with crimes for executing searches for the caller. Seven have been
convicted of various crimes. Stewart so far has only been charged in the
Bullitt County incident.
California
City Corrections Center, California City, California
Dec 7, 2022 finance.yahoo.com
CoreCivic Receives Lease Termination Notice for the California City
Correctional Center from the State of California
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Dec. 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE: CXW) (CoreCivic or the Company) announced today it
received notice from the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) of its intent to terminate the lease agreement for
the company-owned, 2,560-bed California City Correctional Center (CCCC) by
March 31, 2024, due to the state's declining inmate population. The lease
agreement is fully funded through the current fiscal year ending June 30,
2023. Funding for the lease of the CCCC for the 2024 fiscal year, beginning
July 1, 2023, will be determined in the California legislature in the first
half of 2023 as part of the annual budget process. As part of this process
the Company plans to engage with the state of California regarding the
continued utilization of the CCCC by the CDCR due to its modern
infrastructure, efficient design, and comprehensive maintenance program.
Since the lease of the CCCC commenced in 2013, the Company has continually
invested in facility enhancements to ensure the CCCC is operating at its
optimum performance to the benefit of the facility's residents, the
correctional professionals employed at the CCCC and CDCR. In order to
support the Company's environmental sustainability commitments, the Company
recently procured a 100% renewable electricity supply for the facility. The
Company believes these factors, along with the advanced age of many of the
state of California's other correctional facilities, support the continued
lease of the CCCC by the CDCR. Rental revenue generated from the CDCR at
the CCCC for year ended December 31, 2021, and nine months ended September
30, 2022, was $33.3 million and $25.7 million, respectively, and is
reported in the CoreCivic Properties business segment. CoreCivic is very
proud of its opportunity over the past nine years to help the state of
California successfully manage through its historic challenges with prison
overcrowding. The Company believes its relationship with the state of
California has demonstrated the value and flexibility it provides to
governments across its full range of solutions, including through innovative
lease agreements like the one at CCCC.
About CoreCivic
CoreCivic is a diversified, government-solutions
company with the scale and experience needed to solve tough government
challenges in flexible, cost-effective ways. CoreCivic provides a broad range
of solutions to government partners that serve the public good through
high-quality corrections and detention management, a network of residential
and non-residential alternatives to incarceration to help address America’s
recidivism crisis, and government real estate solutions. CoreCivic is the
nation’s largest owner of partnership correctional, detention and
residential reentry facilities, and believes it is the largest private
owner of real estate used by government agencies in the United States. CoreCivic
has been a flexible and dependable partner for government for nearly 40
years. CoreCivic's employees are driven by a deep sense of service, high
standards of professionalism and a responsibility to help government better
the public good. Learn more at www.corecivic.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements as to
CoreCivic's beliefs and expectations of the outcome of future events that
are "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the statements made. These include, but
are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties associated with the timing
of the lease termination, which could potentially occur prior to March 31,
2024, and the Company's intention to engage with the state of California
regarding the continued utilization of the CCCC by the CDCR. CoreCivic
takes no responsibility for updating the information contained in this
press release following the date hereof to reflect events or circumstances
occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events
or for any changes or modifications made to this press release or the
information contained herein by any third-parties, including, but not
limited to, any wire or internet services.
Aug
21, 2014 tennessean.com
The
nation's largest private prison company, Nashville-based Corrections Corp.
of America, has paid more than $8 million in back wages and benefits to
current and former employees guarding federal inmates at a prison in
California City, officials with the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday.
The payments came after an investigation found that the federal prison
subcontractor underpaid 362 employees at the California City Correctional
Center under the terms of its contract, where pay rates are established by
law, according to federal officials. The company disputed the findings and
said it had not violated any laws but was paying its employees under the
terms of a pre-existing contract. "This is about the U.S. Department
of Labor wanting to retroactively apply a wage standard that wasn't part of
the original contractual agreement," company spokesman Jonathan Burns
said in a statement. Officials with the Labor Department, however, said
that over a period of years employees were paid 30 to 40 percent less than
they were supposed to be paid, said Eduardo Huerta, assistant director of
the department's wage and hour division. Many employees recouped more than
$30,000 in back pay, benefits, overtime and holiday pay, officials said,
and had worked at the lesser pay rate for up to five years. The facility
houses federal inmates being detained by the U.S. Marshal and federal
immigration authorities, as well as state inmates. The back wages applied
only to CCA employees working with federal inmates. Corrections Corp. of
America will seek a retroactive cost increase for the contract to absorb
the additional wages and benefits, Burns said. "We greatly value our
employees and the important work that they do to keep our communities safe
and secure," he said. The company also wasn't making the required
contributions to health and life insurance and retirement accounts, Huerta
said. The investigation found record-keeping violations under the Fair
Labor Standards Act, include inaccurate recording of breaks, lunches and
overall hours worked. "If somebody was supposed to be making $30 an
hour, they were making $20 an hour instead," said Huerta. "The
people that get these federal monies from a federal agency to get one of
these contracts have to abide by the wage rates." Corrections Corp. of
America — the fifth-largest prison system in the nation — has come under
scrutiny before. In Kentucky, it paid $260,000 last week to settle claims
that it denied overtime to shift supervisors and forced them to work extra
hours. In Kansas, CCA and a group of collections officers, case managers
and clerks settled in 2009 in federal court over allegations of unpaid
overtime. CCA agreed to pay a maximum of $7 million but did not acknowledge
fault in the case. Idaho, which had contracted with the company for its
Boise prison, began the process of returning operations of the facility to
state control. The facility was sued and plagued by accusations of
violence, gang activity and understaffing after the private prison
contractor took it over. Corrections Corp. of America operates detention
centers for federal, state and local governments in 20 states in the U.S.
and houses nearly 80,000 inmates at 60 facilities. California City is about
110 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
Aug
19, 2014 nanaimodailynews.com
CALIFORNIA
CITY, Calif. - The nation's largest private prison company has paid more
than $8 million in back wages and benefits to current and former employees
at its federal prison facility in California City. The U.S. Department of
Labor said Tuesday that Corrections Corp. of America paid the money to
staff at the California City Correctional Center after an investigation
found it wasn't paying the rates required of federal contractors. A
department official says in some cases employees were paid 40 per cent less
than required by pay rate regulations established for contractors. The
company also wasn't making required contributions to retirement accounts
and health and life insurance. Many workers will receive more than $30,000.
Messages left with the Nashville, Tennessee-based company spokesmen weren't
immediately returned.
June 21, 2010 Bakersfield Californian
Center has notified the state of California that it may lay off as many as
67 employees. Corrections Corp. of America, the private prison operator
that runs the 2,304-bed facility, could not be reached for comment Monday.
But in a report to financial regulators in February, the Nashville-based
company said a contract to house federal offenders will not be renewed
after it expires at the end of September. The company said it is
"pursuing other opportunities" at the medium-security California
City facility. Total revenues at the facility were $68.7 million and $67.7
million during the years ended Dec. 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively,
according to the filing.
January 13, 2010
AP
Corrections Corp. of America said Wednesday that its contract to manage
federal inmates at a 2,300-bed California prison wasn't renewed and will
expire in September. Meanwhile, the nation's largest prison operator said a
contract to manage a smaller New Mexico facility was renewed. CCA said it
would continue management of California City Correctional Center through
September. The renewed contract with the Cibola County Corrections Center
in Milan, N.M., will go into effect Oct. 1. That deal at the 1,200-bed
facility, has a four-year term with three, two-year renewal options.
July 2, 2009
Ottawa Citizen
The Harper government has denied an Alberta man’s bid for a transfer from a
U.S. jail to a Canadian prison on the grounds that he may one day commit a
crime. Brent James Curtis, 28, is in a privately-run, for-profit prison in
California serving 57 months after pleading guilty to a $1-million U.S.
drug trafficking conspiracy in 2007. It was his first offence and he
pleaded guilty to it right away, saying he was drawn to so-called easy
money. He told his family that he didn’t feel right mounting a defence
because he was guilty. The one-time elite hockey player — benched from any
chance in the NHL after getting hit by a truck — makes an interesting
argument to win a prison transfer, saying not only that he wants to serve
the remainder of his sentence — two years — closer to his family and
support network, but that if he isn’t transferred, he will return home
after completing his U.S. sentence without a criminal record in Canada. The
Correctional Service of Canada has confirmed that if Curtis doesn’t get a
transfer and serves out his term in the U.S., he will return home “a free
man” without a criminal record in the system. But if the Harper government
approves the transfer, which the U.S. administration has already done,
Curtis would, in fact, have a criminal record in the Canadian criminal
system. Curtis has also used the very root of the international prisoner
transfer treaty in his request, notably that it was founded on
rehabilitation and reintegration into the community — something the Harper
government has now dismissed. “This is a tough place. I’m losing
everything, every day,” said Curtis, one of a dozen Canadians in the
California private prison, known for its warring Mexican drug gangs. He has
not been afforded any rehabilitation programs or schooling. “The weird thing
about this all is that I am coming home regardless of getting the transfer.
My release date is 2011. If I do not get the transfer I will have zero
rehabilitation and never get fingerprinted by Canada,” said Curtis, who
intends to go back to school upon his return. “Wouldn’t Peter van Loan
(Canada’s public safety minister) want me to receive supervision on parole
and programs to help me re-integrate into Canada?” If he did get into
trouble with the law in Canada, Curtis would be treated as a first-time
offender. “The public safety minister’s tough-on-crime stance really seems
short sighted to me.” Van Loan has signed a rejection letter saying that
because Curtis’s role was a “money man” and “transporter” in the drug
conspiracy, he has “already taken several steps down the road towards
involvement in a criminal organization offence. Given the nature of the
applicant’s acts, I believe that he may, after the transfer, commit a
criminal organization offence.” But according to U.S. authorities, Curtis
was not, in fact, the “money man” — rather a courier for the money man in
the Miami cocaine conspiracy. In a sentencing hearing, U.S. authorities
described Curtis as a “minor participant.” His U.S. lawyer, Marc Seitles,
has worked on several international transfer cases, and says “Of all the
countries, I cannot believe that Canada, a country seemingly known to be
more humane than the United States, won’t let one of its Canadian citizens
come home, especially a bright kid like Brent.” In Calgary hockey circles,
Curtis is known as a former elite player who, despite his career setback,
went on to volunteer as a triple-A coaching assistant to help young
athletes get good enough to make the NHL. In a letter of support filed with
a U.S. court for a sentencing hearing, Jim Finney, a coach for Minor Midget
AAA Blackhawks, wrote about the impact Curtis had as a volunteer coach on
the team: “The passion that Brent showed for each of the kids will stay
with them for the rest of their lives. In a volunteer position such as this
one, the rewards were not financial, but rather emotional. Brent was
emotionally invested in the team, and that was abundantly clear to anyone
that saw him.” Donna Cornaccia, the team’s director, said that Curtis has a
“genuineness about him which is imperative when dealing with youth, they
have the ability to see through a false presentation and can quickly
identify when an adult is not being sincere. Brent has had a huge positive
impact on many of these young adults. He has been a confidant and a trustworthy
person for whom these youth can go to if needed … Brent is a compassionate,
kind and considerate individual whom I am proud to know.” Curtis not only
had a reputation as a tough hockey player in Calgary, but made a point of
publicly speaking out against drugs — especially when it came to his
sister’s “druggie” friends. As an athlete, he repeatedly told his sister to
stay clear of drugs. The son of a high school teacher, Curtis became a day
trader at the age of 25, only to find out he wasn’t that good at it.
“Unfortunately, I had trouble earning a living and made the horrible error
of trying to make fast, illegal money,” he said. Through an old friend,
Curtis, at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, was recruited in 2007 to be the
wheelman for the purchaser. He drove the car to a Miami parking lot, where
they met the cocaine dealer who was actually a police informant. Then,
after the purchaser tested a sample of the buy, the police swooped in and
arrested him, along with Curtis. The Alberta man is one of about 12 Canadians
doing time in California City prison, which houses predominantly Mexican
criminals, and since the crackdown on drug cartels, warring gangs have
rioted, according to Curtis and another Canadian inmate who spoke to the
Citizen. The inmates say that in the past three months, the prison has been
locked down a total of 47 days, meaning they spend about 23 hours a day
inside their cells, where they are also fed. The inmates say all 12
Canadians have written the Canadian government for relief without success.
“We have been in the middle of a Mexican drug cartel war which has spilled
into the prison. We all fear for our safety and if or when one of us does
get hurt, no one can say that we did not warn them,” Curtis said. Van Loan
said he is not at liberty to comment on specific cases.
July 19, 2006 LA
Daily News
A Tennessee-based company that operates a prison in California City is
starting environmental studies for an adjoining 550-bed prison in
anticipation of vying for a contract to house state inmates. Corrections
Corporation of America is starting environmental studies examining the
impacts of a 200,000-square-foot prison. Citing sensitivity for a potential
customer and the competitive process, a CCA spokesman said it was too early
to talk about costs of such a facility or staffing. "The state issued
a request for proposals to build and operate a community correctional
facility," said CCA spokesman Steve Owen. "As part of our
preliminary work, we are preparing the environmental studies. It is still
very preliminary to say what the state will ultimately pursue."
January 13, 2003
With 29 years experience in corrections work for both the government and
private sector, Warden Percy Pitzer is looking forward to hanging his hat
Monday in the office of his own consulting company. Pitzer's
resignation as warden of the California City Correctional Center became
effective Friday, his last day at the prison he has stood watch over since
June 2000. "I'm leaving on very good terms with (Corrections
Corporation of America)," Pitzer said. "I want to do something on
my own." On Monday, Warden Charles Gilkey, recently retired from
the Federal Bureau of Prisons, begins his stint at the California City
Correctional Center. Also on Monday, Pitzer, who spent 25 years with
the Federal Bureau of Prisons and four years with CCA, officially opens
Creative Corrections in Las Vegas (email: createcorrection@aol.com). He
plans to provide consulting services with corrections departments
throughout the West, and establish programs to educate inmates and reduce
the cost of incarceration. (The Bakersfield Californian)
October 10, 2002
In a move hailed as historic by private prison giant Corrections
Corporation of America and representatives of the Mexican government, an
agreement was signed Monday to establish a Mexican high school program at
the California City Correctional Center. (Bakersfield California)
February 7, 2002
A 42-year-old inmate at the California City Corrections Center was in
serious condition Thursday evening at Kern Medical Center after suffering a
stab wound to his neck on Wednesday, officials said. The private
facility since September 2000 has operated on a federal contract for
inmates, he said. About 95 percent of its inmates are serving sentences for
drug and deportation crimes. The prison is operated by the Corrections
Corporation of America, which is based in Nashville, Tenn. (The
Bakersfield Californian)
Camino Nuevo Women's Prison, Albuquerque, New
Mexico
Mar 14, 2016 santafenewmexican.com
SANTA FE, N.M. — The New Mexico Supreme Court says private prison operator
Corrections Corporation of America can be held liable for compensatory
damages to three victims who were raped by a guard. The court affirmed in
an opinion Monday that the company can be held vicariously liable because
private corrections officer Anthony Townes was aided in the sexual assaults
by his job position. Townes is serving a 16-year state prison sentence for
criminal sexual penetration and false imprisonment in connection with
assaults on female inmates at the Camino Nuevo Women's Correctional
Facility. The court says the prison company allowed male corrections
officers to escort female inmates around the facility alone and failed to
enforce rules against physical contact. The court says a warden at the
prison also can be found liable for damages.
February 17, 2012 Albuquerque
Journal
A federal jury Thursday ordered over $3 million in damages to three former
inmates raped by a prison guard at Camino Nuevo Women’s Correctional
Facility in 2007. The intertwined state and federal claims, coupled with
questions about who must pay the compensatory and punitive damages,
however, are certain to engender more litigation – probably from both
sides. Jurors heard over a week of testimony before U.S. District Judge
William P. Johnson before they were charged with rendering a verdict late
Wednesday. It took the jury a day to work through the 10-page verdict form
with over 30 questions relating to victims Heather Spurlock, Nina Carrera
and Sophia Carrasco, and two sets of defendants. They included former guard
Anthony Townes, who is serving a 16-year state prison sentence for criminal
sexual penetration and false imprisonment, his then-employer Corrections
Corporation of America and Barbara Wagner, the warden of Camino Nuevo at
the time. The court had ruled before trial that Townes was liable for
violating the constitutional rights of the inmates to be free from cruel
and unusual punishment. But he left it to the jury to decide if CCA and
Wagner were liable for negligent supervision – the jury said yes – and
whether they also had violated the inmates’ rights by discouraging inmate
complaints – the jury said no. Jurors awarded $100,000 in compensatory
damages each to Spurlock and Carrera, and $125,000 to Carrasco. They ordered
CCA to pay $5,000 in punitive damages to Spurlock and $50,000 in punitive
damages to Carrasco.
February 16, 2012 Albuquerque
Journal
A federal jury on Thursday returned a verdict awarding compensatory damages
of $100,000 to two victims and $125,000 to a third raped by former
Corrections Corporation of America officer Anthony Townes, now serving a
16-year prison sentence for the criminal sexual penetration of four women.
The jury also awarded each plaintiff in the lawsuit $1 million in punitive
damages against Townes — awards are certain to face additional litigation.
The jury found CCA and Barbara Wagner, the then-warden at the Camino Nuevo
Women’s Correctional Facility, had not violated the constitutional rights
of the women but ordered some punitive damages against them based on other
conduct. The rapes occurred while the women were inmates at the facility in
2007.
February 9, 2012 Albuquerque
Journal
Victims of sexual assault by a corrections officer at an Albuquerque
contract prison facility for women told a jury Wednesday that they didn’t
report the incidents because they didn’t think they would be believed. They
also said they thought making waves would inevitably bring retaliation in
the form of lost good time, recreational time or tossed prison cells.
Heather Spurlock, 39, now working as a medical receptionist, and Sophia
Carrasco, 47, who cleans rooms at a resort hotel, were inmates at the Corrections
Corporation of America-run Camino Nuevo facility in 2007. In a situation
where it was an inmate’s word against a corrections officer, they said they
were confident they would come out on the losing end. Camino Nuevo, they
said, was run with intense discipline, little tolerance and few
rehabilitative programs, even though it was presumably a minimum-security
lockup and a halfway step on their way to release from incarceration. Both
said the women’s prison at Grants had been congenial and supportive, in contrast
to Camino Nuevo, where they spent hours picking up rocks and demolishing
“anything green” during outdoor work details and frequent periods of
lockdown in their cells. The sexual assaults by Anthony Townes occurred
over a six-month period to Spurlock and once in the early morning hours to
Carrasco. Townes is serving an 18-year criminal sentence for his state
conviction in Bernalillo County for the rapes of four female inmates, three
of whom are involved in the civil lawsuit against him, CCA and its then-warden.
The trial began Monday in Albuquerque before U.S. District Judge William P.
Johnson.
February 8, 2012 Albuquerque
Journal
A female inmate raped by a prison guard in 2007 testified Tuesday about
conditions at the newly opened Camino Nuevo facility in Albuquerque where
she had been moved from the women’s prison in Grants. Heather Spurlock
Jackson, 39, was the first witness at the civil trial in U.S. District
Court brought against the guard, Anthony Townes, now serving an 18-year
prison sentence for raping her and three other women. Other defendants are
the prison operator, Corrections Corporation of America, and then-warden
Barbara Wagner. Spurlock, Sophia Carrasco and Nina Carrera allege federal
civil rights violations because they say inmate complaints were
discouraged. They also contend that CCA and Wagner were negligent in hiring
and in supervision of the contract facility. Spurlock described a setting
that was harsher and less organized than the women’s facility in Grants
where she had spent the previous five years without write-ups. She said
Grants was strict but that it had programs — she had earned two associate’s
degrees through a distance learning program while there — and staff who
recognized the humanity of the residents. Spurlock and the other 200 or so
inmates moved to Camino Nuevo hadn’t volunteered for the transfer but
seemed to have been picked at random, she said. They were loaded onto buses
and taken to the old Bernalillo County jail in Downtown Albuquerque because
Camino Nuevo wasn’t ready. They stayed there for three months before being
taken to the new facility, which still seemed unready to receive them.
There were no programs, no handbook and only a minimal briefing before the
women were locked down in their cells. Spurlock will testify starting today
about the rape, but her attorney, Nicole Moss, said Townes “raped, stalked,
threatened and terrorized” inmates at the facility and that his behavior
went unchecked without anyone intervening. U.S. District Judge William P.
Johnson already has determined liability for Townes. The question for the
jury of eight will be the amount of damages attributable to him and whether
and how much damages the company and the warden should be responsible for.
Daniel P. Struck, a Phoenix lawyer defending CCA and Wagner, told the jury
in his opening statement that the women had numerous opportunities to
report the sexual assaults but did not, including through a tip line that
went to the state Corrections Department. “It wasn’t fear (of retribution)
that kept them from reporting,” he said. Spurlock, serving a 16-year term
for embezzling $16,000 from a nonprofit, was involved in a voluntary
relationship with Townes, he said, and there was an effort to conceal it.
October 11, 2011 Albuquerque
Journal
Onetime prison guard Anthony Townes is now about two years into an 18-year
state prison sentence after he admitted raping four women at Camino Nuevo
Women’s Correctional Facility in 2007. The civil lawsuit filed by some of
the women, however, still is months away from being resolved. Trial in the
2009 case filed by Heather Spurlock and two other former inmates at the
detention facility was to have begun this month. Several postponements were
requested by the defendants including Townes, former warden Barbara Wagner
and the Corrections Corporation of America, the private contractor that
operated the prison at the time. Camino Nuevo in 2007 was run as an adult
prison and was taking overflow from the women’s prison in Grants. It is now
a juvenile detention center operated by the state Children, Youth and
Families Department. A primary reason for the latest trial delay was the
late disclosure of two additional women who claimed sexual abuse by Townes
but who are not involved in the civil lawsuit. The defense said it needed
more time to interview those witnesses before trial. Attorneys for the
victims said their anticipated testimony about “the traumatic, invasive and
highly personal experience of sexual assault” is only made worse by having
to repeatedly prepare for trial. CCA was well aware of the additional
sexual assault victims, anyway, they said. U.S. District Judge William P.
Johnson, who has now set a firm trial date of Feb. 6, previously ruled
Townes civilly liable for the rapes. He has dismissed some claims against
CCA. Among questions for the jury will be whether Townes’ assaults can be
legally charged to CCA negligence or deliberate indifference in operating
the facility, principally over what the victims contend was a custom of
discouraging inmate complaints against staff. The women’s lawyers will try
to give the jury a picture of what happened during the incidents, as well
as the context in which each assault took place and how CCA responded.
Plaintiffs’ expert Manuel D. Romero said in a report he believes CCA “did
not provide a safe and secure living environment for (women) in the Camino
Nuevo facility.” He said the fact that “such horrific crimes” could be
undetected for several months shows there are “systemic failures within the
facility.” He said in a report there was a “clear lack of accountability
over Mr. Townes and his movement within the prison.” Plaintiffs’ attorneys
may also seek to place Townes’ assaults in the broader context of
underreporting of prison problems. Documents in the court file include
excerpts from testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in 2008
about a former CCA manager-turned-whistleblower who said the company
maintained dual sets of quality assurance reports. The versions sent to
government contracting agencies reportedly failed to include “zero
tolerance” events including riots, escapes, unnatural deaths and sexual
assaults at company-run facilities. CCA has said in court documents that it
put Townes on leave and required him to surrender his badge.
November 20, 2009 KRQE
A judge sentenced a former correction officer who raped four female inmates
to 18 years in prison after emotional pleas from his victims. "I knew
him as a monster, a liar a man who thought because of his position he was
wanted by all but could do as he pleased," one of the victims said.
Anthony Townes pleaded guilty to four counts of rape and false
imprisonment. The rapes occurred between January and August of 2007 at
Camino Nuevo, which is a privately run lockup for female state prison
inmates. Despite the guilty plea, Townes denies hit committed the crimes.
He told the judge Friday that the only reason he pleaded guilty was to
avoid a longer prison term. He said the women are lying. "There is no
fear factor. I would never threaten anyone else's kids. I have a
grandmother, mother a girlfriend, a sister and 4-year-old daughter, so
therefore I would not do that to any woman because no woman deserves
that," Townes said. Townes faced 36 years in prison if he was
convicted by a jury.
October 12, 2007 The
Review
A former Alliance man who is accused of sexually assaulting inmates at
the women's prison that employed him may be facing life in prison. Bond was
set at $500,000, cash only, by Bernalillo County Judge Sandra Engle for
Anthony Shay Townes, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M. Townes, a member of Alliance
High School's 1993 graduating class and a football standout for the
Aviators during his senior year, is charged with four counts of criminal
sexual penetration, a second degree felony; four counts of sexual contact,
a fourth-degree felony; and four counts of kidnapping. According to
Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department Detective Lorraine Montoya, Townes
faces up to 33 years in prison (or life) on each second-degree felony
charge. According to the affidavit submitted by investigators, Townes is
accused of raping and sexually assaulting four female inmates at the Camino
Nuevo Correctional Center, a private minimum security prison where he was
employed between February and August. Montoya said investigators are still
awaiting tests on DNA evidence that would link Townes to the attacks in
this ongoing investigation. Victims testified that Townes snuck inmates out
of their pods at night and out of view of security cameras to avoid
detection by his supervisors.
October 11, 2007 Albuquerque
Journal
Before Anthony Townes started working at Nuevo Camino in July 2006, he went
through a school offered by the Corrections Corporation of America,
according to the company's Web site. He was also trained on where all of
the cameras were positioned. Three CCA prisons are accredited by the
American Correctional Association. Camino Nuevo had yet to receive its
accreditation. The prison is supposed to go through an ACA audit next
month. ACA officials told the Journal on Wednesday that there are no
standards regulating where cameras should be placed and how much of a
prison should be monitored. CCA's spokesman Steve Owen said his company
would wait to review camera placement after the sheriff's office finished
its investigation. But "I don't think there is a correctional facility
in the country that has every area of a prison covered by a camera,"
he said. "Cameras are one of many things you utilize to maintain
safety and security in a facility."
October
10, 2007 Albuquerque Tribune
A male prison guard is in jail on charges he raped four female inmates in
the privately run Camino Nuevo women's prison in Albuquerque. Corrections
Officer Anthony Shay Townes, 33, was arrested Tuesday by Bernalillo County
sheriff's investigators. According to a criminal complaint: A teacher
working in the women's prison in early August overheard a conversation
between inmates about one of them having DNA evidence to prove some sort of
relationship. With more digging, the teacher and her supervisors learned the
inmate was discussing having had a sexual encounter with a corrections
officer. One of the inmates told the supervisor that the corrections
officer was Townes. Townes was immediately placed in a position without
inmate contact, then placed on leave a day later. He is currently on unpaid
leave, prison officials said. Townes is at the Metropolitan Detention
Center with bail set at $500,000 cash-only. Sheriff's deputies were called
to the prison on 4050 Edith Blvd. N.E., the former maximum security
juvenile facility, on Aug. 14 to start an investigation into the
allegations. On Aug. 18, they were called back again, this time because
another inmate told supervisors that Townes had raped her earlier that
week. Two more inmates also told investigators Townes had attacked them.
Their similar reports to detectives include being taken to an area in the
facility out of view of cameras and being assaulted by Townes. One inmate
said she was attacked several times beginning in February. Another inmate
reported being taken out of her cell at 2:30 a.m., an unusual time to leave
her cell but ". . . when a C.O. tells you to do something, you just do
it," she told detectives, according to the complaint. That woman told
detectives she saw Townes sneaking other women out of their cells at night.
Prison spokesman Steve Owen said Townes was hired in October 2006, shortly
after the prison opened. Owen said that as the first of the allegations
surfaced against Townes, he was immediately placed on leave and authorities
were immediately notified.
Carver Transitional Center
Oklahoma
Feb 1, 2019 kfor.com
Investigations underway involving violent incidents with inmates at OKC
halfway house
OKLAHOMA CITY - Two separate investigations are underway regarding
violent incidents with inmates from an Oklahoma City halfway house. One
happened inside the home; the other led to an officer-involved shooting
after the suspect walked away. "This type of stuff, especially like
what happened last week and certainly last night, it's not particularly
common," said Matt Elliott with the Oklahoma Department of
Corrections. The Carver Transitional Center in Oklahoma City is supposed to
be a place for change - a place inmates can turn their life around.
"Prison is a terrible place to be," Elliott said. "It's a
traumatic experience. Most of them don't ever want to go back. They want to
get their lives in order." But after two recent incidents - some have
taken a step back. In one incident, a naked and angry inmate was in a fist
fight with police. In the other incident, an inmate was shot by officers
after walking away from the Carver Center and allegedly becoming violent.
"The suspect continued to charge at the officer with a crowbar-type
instrument in his hand," said Capt. Bo Mathews with the Oklahoma City
Police Dept. "The officer retreated and fired his weapon, striking the
subject." That suspect, identified as 38-year-old Kirk Shields, was
nearing the end of a sentence for several charges including burglary and
eluding police. But on Wednesday, things changed. "Mr. Shields became
irate for reasons that are not known and assaulted staff outside of the
Carver Center," Elliott said. "Then he fled the facility."
Police say before he was shot by officers, Shields had assaulted a man,
leaving him in the hospital. Elliott says inmates' halfway houses are free
to come and go as they please and most aren't violent, so it's rare to have
incidents like this, especially in such a short time frame. "By and
large most halfway house inmates aren't trying to cause trouble," said
Elliott. "They just want to get out. They don't want to be under the
state's thumb anymore. They just want to get on with their lives." The
DOC does not run the halfway house. It's operated by CoreCivic, one of two major correctional companies
in the United States. Now, the DOC says 15 inmates are being moved to
Lexington's prison after reviewing their behavior during the brawl.
Officials say it’s not acceptable behavior for the halfway house. The
inmates are going back to prison. The suspect who was shot by an officer is
expected to survive and the officer is on paid administrative leave.
CoreCivic released the following statement: "We are cooperating fully
with our government partner and local law enforcement as they investigate
these incidents. CoreCivic Community is dedicated to delivering proven and
innovative practices that help individuals obtain employment, successfully
reintegrate into society and keep communities safe. Note: Carver Transitional Center is a
non-secure residential reentry center (halfway house.) Residents are free to come and go during
the day for work, counseling and other reentry services, as is standard
practice for these types of facilities."
Jan
31, 2019 kfor.com
DOC inmate, halfway house ‘walk away’ injured in police shooting;
suspected in earlier assault
OKLAHOMA CITY - A Department of Corrections inmate and current resident
of a city halfway house was injured after he was shot by an Oklahoma City
officer on the city's northwest side Wednesday evening. According to
Oklahoma City Police, an officer was responding to a suspicious person call
at a home in the 2600 block of W. Park Place at around 6 p.m. when he
spotted the man with a "crowbar-type instrument" and chased after
him. "The officer chased him to the east side of the house and at this
point the suspect turned to the officer and the officer discharged his
taser and this did not work on the suspect," said Capt. Bo Mathews.
"The suspect continued to charge at the officer with a crowbar-type
instrument in his hand. The officer retreated and fired his weapon,
striking the subject." Mathews said the man was taken into custody and
transported to a hospital where he is expected to survive. The officer was
not injured. Mathews said police later learned the man had a fight at the
Carver Transitional Center, 400 S. May, earlier in the day and was
considered an escapee. An Oklahoma Department of Corrections official
confirmed to News 4 Wednesday night the man is a DOC inmate who
"walked away" from the halfway house, run by Core Civic, a
private prison company contracted by DOC. Mathews said it's also believed
the man is the suspect in an assault that happened earlier in the evening,
down the block from where the shooting took place, that sent another man to
the hospital. The conditions of both men are unknown at this time and it's
unclear if they knew each other. Mathews said it's also unknown how many
rounds the officer fired, or how many times the suspect was hit. "You
have a person that the officer shot, obviously has injuries. And then also
there was an altercation before the officer arrived, where the suspect had
beat up somebody and put that person in the hospital," said Mathews. "Right
now our homicide detectives are working the scene. I think there are some
people that saw the initial fight where the suspect we had shot had beat up
somebody and also we have witnesses, allegedly, to the officer involved
shooting." The suspect's name is not being released until his family
is notified. The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave
pending the outcome of the shooting investigation.
Central
Arizona Detention Center, Florence, Arizona
Mar 8, 2016 azcentral.com
Workplace safety agency fines private prison in Florence after fire
FLORENCE — Arizona's workplace safety agency has fined a private prison
operator $3,500 for violations discovered after a fire erupted at its
prison in Florence. The fire started July 25 in a clothes dryer at the
prison run by Corrections Corporation of America. The flames went up a vent
and ignited the roof, sending up a plume of black smoke that was visible
for miles. No one was injured. Records released Friday show Arizona
Division of Occupational Safety and Health inspectors visited the prison
following the fire and determined CCA violated rules requiring evacuation
plans for staff members. The agency recommended a $4,500 fine but the
Industrial Commission of Arizona lowered the fine to $3,500 at its Feb. 11
meeting. CCA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
January 28, 2011 Star-Advertiser
The Abercrombie administration is starting to make good on the governor's
promise to bring all state prison inmates incarcerated on the mainland back
to Hawaii.The state returned 243 inmates from Arizona last week and sent
back just 96 to take their place. Of the 243 returning inmates, 54 are
getting paroled, 28 are about to complete their prison terms and three are
back for court hearings. When Gov. Neil Abercrombie promised swift action
last month to bring back all Hawaii inmates serving time in mainland
prisons, state Senate Public Safety Chairman Will Espero was not expecting
action so soon. "I was pleasantly surprised," he said. Espero
said he learned of the returning inmates yesterday from state Public Safety
Director Jodie Maesaka-Hirata. He said the state conducts prison transfers
quarterly, but it usually sends at least the same number of prisoners to
the mainland as it returns. He applauded Abercrombie's plan to bring back
all Hawaii inmates. "If we're going to spend $60 million a year to
house inmates, I'd rather spend it here in Hawaii than on the
mainland," Espero said. The state returned 152 inmates to Hawaii on
Jan. 19, sent 96 to Arizona on Jan. 20 and returned an additional 91 last
Friday. The transfers leave 1,759 Hawaii inmates in Arizona: 1,705 in
Saguaro Correctional Center, 51 in Red Rock Correctional Center, two in
Florence State Prison and one in Central Arizona Detention Center. Central
Arizona, in Florence, and Saguaro and Red Rock, both in Eloy, are private
prisons operated by Corrections Corp. of America, which houses Hawaii
inmates under contract with the state. Abercrombie made his promise after
18 Hawaii inmates at Saguaro sued CCA, the state and the state's contract
monitor. The inmates claim they were beaten and assaulted and their
families threatened by prison guards. The Public Safety Department sent a
team to examine practices at Saguaro last year after two Hawaii inmates
died in February and June. The state returned all but one of the 169 women
serving time in a CCA prison in Kentucky in 2009 after the inmates reported
widespread sexual abuse by guards and prison employees. The
Abercrombie administration is starting to make good on the governor's
promise to bring all state prison inmates incarcerated on the mainland back
to Hawaii.
November 25, 2010 Florence
Reminder
Contract talks between Corrections Corporation of America and the union
continued Monday in Chandler, but the business agent for the local said he
wasn’t very optimistic for a breakthrough in negotiations that started in
May. “I think [CCA is] going through the motions. The bottom line is they
don’t want the union here,” Robert Inman said. A company spokesman in
Nashville disagreed, saying the company is working in good faith toward an
amicable solution. At issue is a new three-year contract for employees at
CCA’s Central Arizona Detention Center in Florence. The majority of CADC
detention officers, approximately 350 in all, don’t belong to the Security,
Police & Fire Professionals of America Local 825. Just over 100 do
belong. The union is seeking a 4 percent raise in each of the next three
years, which Inman said is what local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) employees received in their new contract. Union members have said CCA
is offering 10 cents an hour. CCA spokesman Steve Owen declined to discuss
specific dollar amounts “out of respect for the negotiating process.” But
he said CCA does have a proposal in front of the union that offers a raise
and “preserves outstanding benefits.” But Inman said even with the raise
the union is seeking, CADC employees would still earn considerably less
than they would at ICE. “Twenty-two bucks [an hour at CADC] is not bad, but
up the street [at ICE] it’s 26, 27 and 28.” He said a regular ICE detention
officer earns about $26.87 per hour, while transportation officers and
armed guards earn about a dollar more. Inman said the union would also like
to secure CADC employees some bereavement leave, which they have at ICE.
Owen said CADC and ICE don’t house exactly the same inmates. He said CADC
does have ICE detainees, but there are other partners too. “I wouldn’t call
it identical” to the local ICE facility, he said. He said CADC also holds
inmates for the U.S. Marshal Service and the Pascua Yaqui tribe. Inman said
CCA can simply pass on the costs of the new contract to the federal
government. It submits the contract to the U.S. Department of Labor for
approval. If the wages are too high, the government takes the union to a
“variance hearing.” But Owen said it’s “not as simple as passing along an
increase to the government. “... Our governmental partners are working
under increasingly-tight budgets,” Owen said. “... We’ve seen contracts
pulled and jobs lost because it was advantageous for the government to
relocate where wages are lower.” He said CCA had a U.S. Bureau of Prisons
contract in California, but when it was up for renewal, the government
opted for a less-expensive contract in Georgia, even though “they were
highly complimentary of our facility.” Inman said he isn’t worried the
union is seeking a wage that will put the facility in jeopardy. “I’ve been
doing this 15-16 years. If we’re too high, the government will take us to a
variance hearing. That’s why we try to stay on the parameter of not pricing
ourselves out of business. “... We don’t want to price ourselves out of a
job. Our goals are good working conditions, a good living for your family,
getting your kids an education, taking your kids on a vacation every year
and making a halfway-decent dollar.” Owen said CADC already pays a wage
above what the federal government sets, yet is still offering a raise.
“We’re making decisions that won’t hurt our ability to do business, and
hurt our employees by the loss of jobs. ... The company is not going to
agree to demands that don’t make good sense.” Owen said the union has
barred two-thirds of represented employees from voting on the contract;
Inman agreed that nonmembers don’t have a vote. CCA had proposed a federal
mediator to help negotiations progress, but the union backed out of that
meeting, Owen said. Inman replied that the mediator was scheduled to be
present Monday.
April 21, 2010 ABC
15
A former Arizona correctional officer pleaded guilty this week to
attempting to give a prison inmate drugs, according to the U.S. Attorney's
Office. Juan Nunez, 41, of Coolidge, admitted he attempted to provide the
inmate with cocaine while he worked at the Corrections Corporation of
America Central Arizona Detention Center in Florence. On November 6, 2008,
Nunez met with an undercover FBI Special Agent in a parking lot in Tucson,
according to a news release. During the meeting in the agent's car, Nunez
reportedly took half an ounce of cocaine and $1,600 in cash as payment for
delivering the drugs to the inmate. Nunez was arrested without incident
after he got out of the car, according to authorities.
January 13, 2009 Press
Release
A report released today by the Southwest Institute for Research on
Women and the Bacon Immigration Law and Policy Program describes harsh
conditions of confinement for the roughly three hundred women housed in
immigration detention facilities in Arizona. The report, Unseen Prisoners:
A Report on Women in Immigration Detention Facilities in Arizona, is based
on over a year of research, including over 40 interviews with detainees,
their family members, attorneys, and service providers. “Few people realize
that we are locking up huge numbers of immigrants every day and holding
them for months and in some cases years at a time. They are not being
punished for a crime, and yet they are held in facilities that are
identical to, and often double as, prisons or jails,” said Nina Rabin, the
lead researcher and author of the report. “Women immigration detainees in
particular are an invisible population. We hope this report will raise
awareness about women locked up just an hour away from here in conditions
that would shock most Americans. We also hope to raise awareness about the
U.S. citizen children separated from their mothers right now because of
immigration detention.” The report provides detailed information about
day-to-day life in the three facilities that house women immigration
detainees in Arizona: Central Arizona Detention Center, Pinal County Jail,
and Eloy Detention Center. Rabin and several University of Arizona law
students conducted interviews and extensive background research for the
report over a twelve month period between August 2007 and August 2008.
Rabin described the study’s participants: “In our small sample size of
detainees who agreed to participate in this research study, we encountered
pregnant and nursing mothers, domestic violence victims, low-wage workers
swept up in worksite raids, and asylum-seekers fleeing persecution and
sexual violence.” The federal agency in charge of the detention and removal
of immigrants, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), contracts for two
of the facilities to be run by the private prison company the Corrections
Corporation of America. In the case of Pinal County Jail, ICE contracts
with the county. ICE permitted the researchers access to two of the three
facilities, but declined requests to interview ICE representatives or
facility personnel for the report. Rabin met with ICE representatives in
December to discuss the report’s findings and recommendations. Key findings
of the report include: • Family separation: The majority of women
interviewed were separated from at least one U.S. citizen child under the
age of 10 and were transferred to Arizona from out of state. As a result,
they were hundreds or at times thousands of miles away from their families
and communities during their time in detention. • Severe penal conditions
for women who are not serving criminal sentences: Women described
conditions of confinement that are in many cases more restrictive than in
county jails or prisons, including limited access to recreation, a complete
absence of programming or activities, frugal provision of food and other
supplies, and the routine use of strip searches and shackling during
transport. • Aggressive government prosecution and detention of women who
pose no security threat or flight risk: Attorneys reported that ICE
routinely appeals decisions to release pregnant women on bond; rejects or
does not respond to applications for humanitarian parole of victims of
domestic violence, refugees, or women with serious health conditions; and
refuses to reduce bonds for families unable to pay. • Inadequate medical
care: Women reported inadequate gynecological and obstetrical care, long
waits for medical attention, and dismissive responses to medical requests.
The report contains detailed recommendations for Congress, the Department
of Homeland Security, ICE, and the individual facilities researched.
Recommendations range from broad policy changes, including the need for
increased consideration of the impact of immigration detention on families,
to specific facility-level concerns, such as the lack of outdoor recreation
in Pinal County Jail. The report will be available beginning on January 13,
2009, at http://www.law.arizona.edu/depts/clinics/ilc//UnseenPrisoners.pdf.
For more information, please contact Nina Rabin at (520) 621-9206 or
rabin@email.arizona.edu.
December 19, 2008 West
Central Tribune
Andrew Gordon Lemcke, 34, formerly of Appleton, appeared Friday
afternoon before District Judge David Mennis in Benson to face a Swift
County grand jury’s indictments on first-degree, premeditated murder and
second-degree, intentional murder in the Sept. 12, 2004, shooting death of
his wife, Nichole Riley-Lemcke, 26. Lemcke’s family was able to post
$10,000 bail for him by late afternoon and allow for his conditional
release, according to his attorney, Brian Wojtalewicz of Appleton.
Minnesota Assistant Attorney General William Klump asked the court to set
bail at $1 million, but Judge Mennis offered Lemcke two options. He could
post a $100,000 bond or $10,000 cash and be released on conditions that
require he not leave the state without the court’s approval. Or, he could
post $1 million bond or $100,000 cash bail and be released without
conditions. In asking for $1 million bail, Klump argued that Lemcke
represented a flight risk due to his connections in Arizona and the
possibility of fleeing into Mexico, as well as the seriousness of the
charges against him. A first-degree murder conviction carries the
possibility of life in prison, while a second-degree murder conviction
could result in a 40-year sentence. Wojtalewicz called the $1 million bail
request “absurd.’’ He said Lemcke desperately wanted to be reunited with
his 5-year-old daughter and poses no risk. He told the court that Lemcke
was returning from Scout camp with his daughter and was only one hour from
the Mexican border when Wojtalewicz called him on Nov. 16 to tell him that
a grand jury had indicted him on murder. Within two hours of the phone
call, Lemcke had arranged for his daughter’s care and turned himself in to
the sheriff in Pinal County, Ariz., according to Wojtalewicz. He also
pointed out for the court that a Swift County grand jury had heard
testimony in the case in April 2005 and had returned no bill of indictment.
Lemcke has been working for the past two years as a corrections officer
with Corrections Corporation of America in Florence, Ariz., owns a home
there, and has not represented a threat to others or a flight risk,
Wojtalewicz said.
November 19, 2008 West
Central Tribune
A Swift County grand jury has issued indictments for first- and
second-degree murder against Andrew Gordon Lemcke, 34, in the shooting of
his wife Nichole Riley-Lemcke in their Appleton home on Sept. 12, 2004. The
indictments against Lemcke were issued Monday and are now filed with the
Minnesota courts, according to the trial court public access system. The
court file lists charges of first-degree murder – premeditated and
second-degree murder – with intent not premeditated for an offense alleged
to have been committed. The grand jury had been convened last week and is
believed to have heard testimony Wednesday, Thursday and Friday before
issuing the indictment on Monday. The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office
declined comment on Tuesday. Spokesman Ben Wogsland said there was “nothing
of a public nature’’ that he could address. Swift County Attorney Robin
Finke was in court and could not be reached Tuesday afternoon. Previously,
the county attorney said that grand jury proceedings are secret and that
his office could not comment in any respect unless or until a defendant is
presented with charges in district court. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
in Florence, Ariz., took Lemcke into custody under a governor’s warrant on
Nov. 16, according to its Web site. Lemcke has been living in Florence,
Ariz., where he has been employed as a correctional officer with the
Corrections Corporation of America facility, according to information
obtained during an earlier civil lawsuit filed against him by his late
wife’s family. Nichole Riley-Lemcke, 26, a mother of three, was shot in the
Appleton home she shared with Andrew Lemcke during the early morning hours
of Sept. 12, 2004. Lemcke described the shooting as accidental in a letter
to the editor published after the incident.
November 7, 2008 Lawfuel
Juan Nunez, 39, of Coolidge, Ariz., was arrested by the FBI yesterday
and charged today with Attempted Provision of a Prohibited Object to an
Inmate and Possession of Cocaine With Intent to Distribute. Nunez is
employed as a corrections officer by Corrections Corporation of America
(CCA) and currently works at CCA’s Central Arizona Detention Center located
in Florence, Ariz. The CCA facility houses federal inmates per a contract
with the federal government. The criminal complaint alleges that since
October 30, 2008, Nunez has been negotiating with an inmate to bring
cocaine into the facility from an outside source on the inmate’s behalf. On
November 6, 2008, Nunez met with an undercover FBI agent acting as the
outside source. During the meeting, Nunez accepted a ½ ounce of cocaine for
the inmate and a $1,600 payment for agreeing to smuggle the cocaine into
the facility. Nunez was arrested immediately after he took possession of
the cocaine and money. At his initial appearance today in federal court in
Phoenix, Nunez was held over for a detention hearing set for Monday,
November 10th at 3:45 p.m. A conviction for Attempted Provision of a
Prohibited Object to an Inmate in this case carries a maximum penalty of 20
years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both; and a conviction for
Possession of Cocaine With Intent to Distribute in this case carries a
maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, a $1,000,000 fine or both.
In determining an actual sentence, the judge ultimately assigned to this
case will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate
sentencing ranges. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in
determining a sentence. A criminal complaint is simply the method by which
a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of
guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until competent evidence is
presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
February 23, 2007 The
Arizona Republic
The parent company of the Central Arizona Detention Center in Florence has
agreed to pay more than $400,000 to settle findings of hiring
discrimination. U.S. Department of Labor investigators said the privately
run prison's selection process disproportionately rejected non-Hispanic job
applicants who applied to be correctional officers during a two-year period
that ended in March 2005. The prison has agreed to pay 464 former
applicants an equal share of $438,626, or $945.32 each, which includes back
pay and interest. The prison will also hire 16 previously rejected
applicants. The Corrections Corporation of America, which manages the
prison, said the settlement doesn't mean it violated federal affirmative
action law. "Although we continue to disagree with the position taken
by (the Labor Department), we have agreed to take certain steps to resolve
this matter," a company statement said. The investigation was the
result of routine audits that the Labor Department conducts with companies
contracting with the federal government. "We'll go in and we'll look
at the job applicant pool for more than one position, and we look at who
applied for the jobs and who was hired," spokeswoman Deanne Amaden
said. "In this case, what we found was a high disproportionate number
of Hispanics were being hired. The result was that the non-Hispanics were
not getting that job opportunity." Corrections Corporation of America
has also agreed to immediately stop discriminatory practices and undergo
self-monitoring measures to ensure legal hiring practices, according to the
Labor Department.
November 11, 2006 Arizona
Daily Star
A lockdown at the Central Arizona Detention Center in Florence has
suspended visitation as authorities conduct a routine search for
contraband, said Gilbert Carmona, assistant warden. "This is a yearly
shakedown," he said Friday, but declined to say if anything has been
found. The detention center has about 3,000 inmates, Carmona said. The
lockdown is expected to last about a week, he said. Visitation will be
resumed when the lockdown is lifted, he added. The privately-run facility
is owned by Corrections Corporation of America.
September 29, 2005
Casa Grande Valley News
Several employees at Central Arizona Detention Center used their mid- day
break last Thursday to have a piece of cake and congratulate a colleague on
his birthday. Harry J. Larson celebrated his 80th birthday while on the job
as a correctional officer. CADC Warden Bruno Stolc presented a plaque to
Larson, who has been with the private prison in Florence since June 2001.
The warden recalled in front of about 25 people assembled, how Larson
recently helped pull an aggressive inmate off another officer. "So Mr.
Larson is not just filling a spot. Mr. Larson is a correctional officer,
and we're dang proud to have him," Stolc said. Warden Stolc said while
Larson is the oldest CADC employee, he is not the oldest employee in CCA.
Frank Deloria, an officer at the company's Eden, Texas, prison is 83. The
company also has a part- time registered nurse who is 87, Stolc said.
December 7, 2004 Metropolitan
News-Enterprise
A federal magistrate judge in Arizona should have appointed a lawyer to
represent an incarcerated immigrant suing a private jailer over his
treatment, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. It was an abuse of
discretion not to name counsel under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1915(e)(1) for Emmanuel
Senyo Agyeman in his civil rights suit, Senior Judge John T. Noonan said. He was held at a variety of correctional facilities,
included one operated by a private contractor, Corrections Corporation of
America. In his lawsuit, he contended he was shackled, bound and beaten by
CCA employees while being transported for medical treatment in 1998. After
a trial at which he represented himself, a jury rejected his claims. The
Ninth Circuit appointed a lawyer to represented him in his appeal and
yesterday vacated the judgment resulting from the trial. Agyeman, Noonan
explained, was under the misconception that he could proceed against the
individual CCA corrections officers under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 as if they
were state employees, while in fact their liability could only be
predicated on Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388
(1971). The corporation itself, however, could not be subjected to
liability under Bivens, as Agyeman sought to do, Noonan said; instead,
Agyeman should have sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims
Act and sought to join CCA as a defendant. The plaintiff never succeeded in
gaining access to the federal regulations which, on appeal, CCA argued
governed his treatment at the time of the alleged incident, Noonan added.
Without gaining access to the federal prison regulations, Agyeman could not
establish that the treatment he alleged that he received was or was not
contrary to what was required by the United States as to noncriminal
detainees. Without a lawyer, Agyeman not only did not think of obtaining
this information but did not advance any coherent theory for subjecting
Corrections Corporation to liability.” In addition to ascertaining a viable
basis for liability, a lawyer might have been able to exploit the “anomaly
of incarcerating a person on noncriminal charges and confining him for
seven years,” Noonan suggested. He elaborated: “Such incarceration may be a
cruel necessity of our immigration policy; but if it must be done, the
greatest care must be observed in not treating the innocent like a
dangerous criminal. Is there any warrant for shackling the feet and binding
the chest of an innocent detainee? It requires legal skill to frame this
issue and distinguish Agyeman’s case from that of the ordinary
transferee—.”
Cibola County Correctional Center,
Cibola, New Mexico
Jun
15, 2021 santafenewmexican.com
Lawsuit alleges prison failed to protect inmate from attack that caused
brain damage
A
new federal lawsuit accuses private prison operator Core Civic of failing
to protect a 19-year-old New Mexico prisoner from other inmates, allowing
him to suffer a beating that caused brain damage. Ruben Romero's complaint
alleges Core Civic, along with the warden and guards the company employed
at the Cibola County Correctional Center in 2018, violated his civil
rights. The company, which failed to implement a system to identify inmates
who should be kept away from one another, placed him in a population with
his co-defendant in a murder case, who participated in a violent attack on
him, according to the complaint. Romero, who stands about 5-foot-4 and
weighed around 130 pounds at the time of the incident, was placed in a pod
where he was one of the few inmates who did not have a red stripe on his
uniform indicating he was a dangerous to the facility, the complaint says.
Meanwhile, his co-defendant, Rudy Valencia, was classified as one of the most
dangerous inmates in the prison and had a history of violence in detention
facilities. On the night in question, the lawsuit says, a guard left
Romero's unit, where prisoners had a shared common area. Three men
including Valencia - who were all far larger than Romero - severely beat
him, kicking and punching him in the head and face. "[He] screamed for
help," the complaint says, but other inmates in the pod continued
milling about and looked the other way. Had anyone been monitoring the unit,
even remotely, the complaint says, they would have seen the three inmates
"stomping [Romero] while he lay motionless on the ground." After
the assault, "stumbled down the stairs with blood pouring out if his
face" and "called repeatedly for help with no response." Meanwhile,
the lawsuit says, his attackers were cleaning his blood from the floor.
About 30 minutes later, a guard noticed Romero standing bloodied by the
door to the unit. He was taken to a hospital with "severe and life
threatening injuries," according to the complaint, and was found to
have suffered brain damage in the attack. Romero's attorneys are seeking an
unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages against Core Civic,
one of the largest private prison operations in the nation.
Sep
12, 2020 nmpoliticalreport.com
Private
prison operator CoreCivic is accused of ignoring a COVID-19 outbreak,
putting inmates and the community at risk
In
the first week of July, Freddie Sanchez began to feel a hot and cold
tingling sensation in his neck and back. He had been imprisoned at Cibola
County Correctional Center for two years and lived in a working pod, a unit
of about 40 federal inmates who work in food preparation and other jobs at
the prison while awaiting trial or sentencing. Feeling “sicker than heck,”
Sanchez asked a guard about getting a COVID-19 test. He said the guard told
him he was probably just withdrawing from drugs. “That’s messed up for
someone to even say that,” Sanchez said. The next week, he noticed that one
of the other kitchen workers was having trouble breathing. The inmate, who
had asthma, confided that he was afraid to let himself fall asleep at night
for fear he might not wake up. A couple of mornings later, Sanchez said, he
noticed that the man had disappeared. By July 20, the entire kitchen staff
was too sick to work. And that was when, for the first time since the
pandemic erupted in March, the Cibola inmates were tested for the
coronavirus. For months, CoreCivic, the largest private prison corporation
in the nation, had assured state and federal authorities it had everything
under control. On July 26, it reported just five positive cases among the
federal inmates at its Cibola facility, a 1,129-bed prison set in the
little village of Milan, just outside of Grants. The following day, the
number jumped to 175 — an increase that represented New Mexico’s largest
single-day jump of COVID-19 cases. Among the ill were Sanchez and his
cellmate Moises Zepeda, both of whom told Searchlight New Mexico that on
July 22 they were sent to a shared cell in the special housing unit known
as “the SHU” — typically an area for disciplinary segregation like solitary
confinement. They remained there for two weeks, family members said. Zepeda
said that their stay in the SHU began after he flipped off a guard. In
separate interviews with these detainees and two other men, an account
emerged of an official response from CoreCivic that was both punitive and
ineffective at preventing the spread of infection. A prison telephone,
occasionally wheeled over to Zepeda and Sanchez’s cell in the SHU, was
their only access to the outside world. That was how they learned, in calls
to their attorneys, that they had both tested positive for COVID-19. Basic
requests for things like Tylenol went unanswered, they said. A guard they
knew only as “Officer Pine” took hours to bring them the toilet paper they
requested. It wasn’t until their 12th day in the SHU, they said, that they
received a towel for the shower. CoreCivic has denied these allegations.
“Detainees with symptoms of COVID-19 were housed in a medical overflow
unit, NOT restrictive housing,” said spokesperson Amanda Gilchrist in a
written statement to Searchlight. She dismissed reports of denied
medical care as “patently false.” Though she confirmed that the prison
population wasn’t tested for COVID-19 until July 20, she described the
testing effort as preventative. “Most of the staff and detainee cases that
have tested positive … were asymptomatic at the time of testing,” Gilchrist
said. As of Sept. 8, the number of COVID-19 cases at Cibola
officially reached 324 — a figure that includes people who have recovered
from the disease and accounts for more than 80 percent of cases in the
entire county. The cases are concentrated among inmates detained by the
U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), which has 492 beds at the prison. In a
statement, USMS spokesperson Lynzey Donahue reiterated CoreCivic’s claim
that nearly all inmates were asymptomatic. “All recovered within 14 days,”
she added. An additional 44 staff members have also tested positive,
according to CoreCivic. The outbreak has sparked concern in and around
rural Cibola County, where state lawmakers say it could strain the local
hospital’s limited resources. A New Mexico congressional delegation, made
up of Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Representatives Deb
Haaland, Ben Ray Luján and Xochitl Torres Small, expressed numerous
concerns about the prison’s handling of COVID-19 in an inquiry on Aug. 14.
CoreCivic took troublingly long to realize that it had “a massive outbreak
in its facility endangering the safety of inmates, detainees, staff and the
community,” the delegation wrote in a letter to U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE), the USMS and CoreCivic CEO Damon T. Hininger.
The letter noted that the state Department of Health had to direct
CoreCivic to conduct mass testing, a point of concern. The delegation was
also concerned that “correctional officers working at the Cibola facility
are not wearing adequate PPE when escorting COVID-19 positive inmates into
the local hospital,” the letter said. A spokesman for Heinrich said the
delegation has still not received a response from CoreCivic or any
government agency. CoreCivic reported more than $1.9 billion in revenue in
2019, about half of it derived from federal contracts with ICE, the USMS
and the Bureau of Prisons. But despite its ample resources, advocates and
prisoners alike say the company has neglected to take basic precautions to
prevent COVID-19. People incarcerated
in at least three CoreCivic prisons, including the facility in Cibola, have
staged protests over conditions since the pandemic began. Several guards
have filed lawsuits against the company, alleging unsafe working conditions
at an ICE detention center in California. And a federal class-action suit
charges that CoreCivic detainees in Arizona were denied medical care and
the most basic safeguards. In Cibola County, where 29 percent of residents
live below the poverty line, CoreCivic reportedly has collected $150
million from the county in exchange for operating the prison since 2016.
Even before COVID, the prison had a reputation for dismal medical care.
“The Cibola facility has long been known to be one of the most
problem-prone prisons in the nation,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
wrote in a December 2016 report. Within days of the July 20 testing, the
whole prison went into a strict lockdown. Two other inmates who spoke to
Searchlight said they were allowed to leave their cells, in an area known
as Pod 700C, for 20 minutes every other day, leaving them only enough time
for either a shower or a phone call. Like Sanchez and Zepeda, the two said
they didn’t get medical attention for two weeks. Their meals consisted of
oatmeal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch and dinner. Tensions boiled
over on Aug. 5, when inmates anticipated the lockdown would end. Instead,
they were told it had been extended. That was when, according to both
prison authorities and inmates, the prisoners staged a protest and refused
to go back into their cells. “Staff used less than lethal force including
oleoresin capsicum,” or pepper spray, Gilchrist said in a statement. The
two inmates in 700C said they witnessed guards use some sort of non-lethal
guns to quell the protest and that they shot at one man’s head dozens of
times, requiring him to receive staples to stitch up his head wounds.
“Facility staff successfully restored order, with no serious injuries
occurring as a result of this incident to detainees or staff,” she said.
“One detainee was sent to an outside hospital the following day for
treatment and returned to the facility.” The inmate with asthma, the one
who disappeared without explanation, turned out to have a severe case of
COVID-19. He was transported to Presbyterian Rust Medical Center in Rio
Rancho with a collapsed lung and was placed on a ventilator, according to
his daughter Jamie Rodriguez, a nurse in California. Rodriguez said she
asked the USMS to let her visit her father, Todd Prue, in the hospital’s
I.C.U. She even flew to New Mexico so she could be available on the spot.
According to one email, the USMS told her that his charge nurse had
recommended a Zoom-like call, but it had to be coordinated between the
prison and the hospital. That never happened, Rodriguez said. “He wasn’t always
an inmate. He was my father, and I just would like to be able to be there
and say goodbye in a proper way,” she said. On August 13, Rodriguez
received an email that her father’s condition had improved. He was returned
to the prison and kept in the medical wing, where she finally reached him
by phone. He told her he had complained about his symptoms for two weeks,
and that he was accused of being on illicit drugs — and drug-tested twice —
before his hospitalization. Several days had passed since he was discharged,
but he hadn’t yet tested negative for the disease, she said. Because he was
brought back to prison before being confirmed negative, she worried that
the disease would continue to spread throughout the facility. Todd
Hotchkiss, an Albuquerque lawyer who represents five COVID-infected clients
at Cibola, agreed. “I’m very concerned that my clients are just in a
container being moved around with a virus,” Hotchkiss said. The staff just
“shuffles guys around — that’s all they do, it seems.” And that means
COVID-19 can keep recirculating, today and for the foreseeable future, he
said. “I’m not sure how they are going to get this out of that facility.”
Aug 19, 2020 localsyr.com
Lawmakers
want answers from ICE, contractor regarding COVID-19 outbreak at NM jail
Members
of Congress troubled at reports of Cibola County center guards not wearing
PPE when escorting sick detainees to hospital; company denies that
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Members
of New Mexico’s congressional delegation want to know why a COVID-19
outbreak took place despite warnings at a privately-run detention center in
Cibola County. In a recent letter to the Acting Director of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other officials, the
lawmakers expressed “serious concerns” about a significant rise in
coronavirus infections among inmates and staff at the Cibola County
Corrections Center. The center now accounts for 84% of all reported
COVID-19 cases in the county, with 246 of those being recorded between July
27 and July 29. The center is run by CoreCivic, a company contracted by ICE
to operate migrant detention facilities in Texas and other states. “This
increase … raises questions on CoreCivic’s preparation and ability to keep
inmates, detainees and staff safe and puts the county of Cibola, New Mexico
… at risk of viral exposure,” the letter states. The lawmakers are troubled
because back in April — after the first coronavirus infection was reported
at the Cibola center — they had been assured by CoreCivic that it was
implementing a COVID-19 action plan to prevent further infections. “We are
concerned that while CoreCivic stated it implemented (the plan), ordered
test kits and developed contingency plans, it wasn’t until the New Mexico
Department of Health directed Cibola to conduct mass testing with kits
provided by the state that CoreCivic realized it had a massive viral
outbreak in its facilities,” the letter states. The Democratic lawmakers —
U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, U.S. Reps. Xochitl Torres Small,
Ben Ray Lujan and Deb Haaland — also allege that correctional officers at
Cibola aren’t wearing personal protective equipment while escorting sick
inmates to hospitals, jeopardizing themselves, medical workers and other
patients to COVID-19. And this isn’t because the company lacks PPE, the
lawmakers say. “This is troubling since two weeks before the outbreak at
Cibola (a company official) stated at a hearing of the Border Security
Subcommittee that ‘we’ve got plenty of masks in inventory and have the
flexibility … to relocate masks to other facilities,'” the letter states.
The lawmakers are giving ICE, CoreCivic and the U.S. Marshals Service until
Friday to answer their questions. In an email to Border Report, CoreCivic
said it has responded “appropriately, thoroughly and with care” to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The company also said it requires staff members to wear
face masks inside the facility and during transport of detainees. “We have
received the letter sent to us by the New Mexico congressional delegation
and are working to provide them a formal response. We have also been
working in close partnership with the New Mexico Department of Health,
including regular communication with our contacts there since the facility
had its first positive care in May,” said Ryan Gustin, manager of public
affairs for CoreCivic. The company says all detainees are now going through
daily symptoms and temperature checks and that staff are conducting regular
meetings with detainees on sanitation protocols, social distancing and the
use of PPE, among others.
Nov
27, 2018 thedailybeast.com
New Mexico: Trans woman beaten to death at Corecivic prison
A transgender woman who died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody
after being held in a privately operated detention center was likely
physically abused there, according an autopsy report released Monday, and
died after several days of severe, untreated dehydration. Roxsana Hernández
Rodriguez, 33, a transgender woman from Honduras, died on May 25, nine days
after being transferred to a dedicated unit for transgender women at the
Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico, which is operated under
contract by CoreCivic, the second-largest private prison company in the
United States. “There she developed severe diarrhea and vomiting over the
course of several days,” wrote forensic pathologist Kris Sperry, “and
finally was emergently hospitalized, then transported to Lovelace Medical
Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she remained critically ill until
her death.” One day after arriving at Cibola, Ms. Hernández Rodriguez was
admitted to a local hospital, and was later transferred to Lovelace Medical
Center in Albuquerque, where she died while in intensive care. The autopsy
concluded that Hernández Rodriguez’s cause of death was most likely “severe
complications of dehydration superimposed upon HIV infection,” which made
her susceptible to the physiologic effects of untreated dehydration.
“According to observations of other detainees who were with Ms. Hernández
Rodriguez, the diarrhea and vomiting episodes persisted over multiple days
with no medical evaluation or treatment, until she was gravely ill,” Sperry
wrote. Sperry’s autopsy, the second conducted on Hernández Rodriguez’s body
following her death, also found evidence of physical abuse, with “deep
bruising” on her hands and abdomen, evidence of blunt-force trauma
“indicative of blows, and/or kicks, and possible strikes with blunt
object.” An accompanying diagram illustrated long, thin bruises along
Hernández Rodriguez’s back and sides, as well as extensive hemorrhaging on
Hernández Rodriguez’s right and left wrists, which Dr. Sperry found were
“typical of handcuff injuries.” Andrew Free, an attorney representing her
family, told The Daily Beast that her treatment in ICE custody went far
beyond neglectful. “She journeyed thousands of miles fleeing persecution
and torture at home only to be met with neglect and torture in this
country’s for-profit human cages,” Free said. An ICE spokesperson said the
agency disputes the findings of the report. “U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) cannot speak to the validity of the private autopsy cited
by The Daily Beast; however, allegations that she was abused in ICE custody
are false,” said Danielle Bennett, a spokesperson for the agency. “A review
of Hernandez’s death conducted by ICE Health Service Corps medical
professionals confirmed that she suffered from a history of untreated HIV.
At no time did the medical personnel treating Ms. Hernandez at Cibola
General Hospital or Lovelace Medical Center raise any issues of suspected
physical abuse. “ICE takes very seriously the health, safety and welfare of
those in our care, including those who come into ICE custody with prior
medical conditions or who have never before received appropriate medical
care. Any death that happens in ICE custody is a cause for concern, and the
agency will continue its full review of this case according to standard
protocols.” At the time of her death, ICE stated that she was admitted to
the hospital with “symptoms of pneumonia, dehydration, and complications
associated with HIV,” and that “comprehensive medical care is provided from
the moment detainees arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay.” In
response to similar questions, CoreCivic director of public affair Amanda
Gilchrist told The Daily Beast that “we take the health and well-being of
those entrusted to our care very seriously,” and are “committed to
providing a safe environment for transgender detainees.” CoreCivic, a
publicly traded company whose motto is “Better the Public Good,” operates
more than 65 prisons and detention facilities in the United States. Even
before her detention in New Mexico, Hernández Rodriguez had walked an
extremely difficult path on her way to the United States. In an interview
with Buzzfeed News a month before her death, Hernández Rodriguez said she
decided to flee Honduras after she was gang-raped by four members of the
MS-13 gang, resulting in her being infected with HIV. “Trans people in my
neighborhood are killed and chopped into pieces, then dumped inside potato
bags,” Hernández Rodriguez said at the time. “I didn’t want to come to
Mexico—I wanted to stay in Honduras but I couldn’t… They kill trans people
in Honduras. I’m scared of that.” LGBT people in El Salvador, Guatemala,
and Honduras are uniquely susceptible to violence and persecution, as well
as during their travels in pursuit of asylum. The U.S. government has
expressed skepticism about the veracity of these claims, as well as the
number of LGBT people traveling in caravans headed for the border. In a
telephone briefing with reporters last week, one senior DHS official told
journalists that caravans pushed LGBT migrants “to the front of the caravan
in an effort to gain sympathetic PR coverage.” Hernández Rodriguez, known
as “Roxy” to her friends, decided to travel more than 2,000 miles with
1,300 other migrants hoping to claim asylum in the United States, making a
six-week journey across Mexico organized by Pueblo Sin Fronteras. After
arriving at the U.S. border and asking for asylum at the San Ysidro Port of
Entry on the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego, she was taken into custody
on May 9. After being held for five days, she was transferred to the Cibola
facility that houses a dedicated “pod” for transgender women, which ICE
says is run by medical and detention staff trained in “best practices for
the care of transgender individuals.” Less than three weeks after arriving
in the U.S., she was dead. Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with
ICE’s statement and to clarify the timeline of Roxsana Hernández
Rodriguez’s treatment.
Nov
15, 2018 santafenewmexican.com
Asylum-seekers sue over wages at prison in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE — The operator of one of the largest private prison systems
in the United States paid detained immigrants at a Western New Mexico
prison as little as $1 per day as part of “volunteer” work programs, and
refused to pay them minimum wages even though they were not convicted of
any crimes, a new federal class-action lawsuit alleges. Three detained men
from the Central African country of Cameroon who came to the U.S. seeking
asylum were paid the low wages for janitorial and kitchen work at the
CoreCivic-run prison at the Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan,
near Grants, according to court documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District
Court in Maryland. For about six months, Desmond Ndambi, Mbah Emmanuel Abi
and Nkemtoh Moses Awombang were held at the detention center after
surrendering to U.S. officials at the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas in June
2017, said Joseph Sellers, the attorney for the men and a partner at
Washington, D.C., law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. All three men
are members of a politically persecuted Anglophone minority in Cameroon,
and they came to the U.S. fleeing torture and persecution by police,
Sellers said. But it was while they were awaiting the hearing for asylum
that prison officials offered the men a chance to make money to cover basic
necessities like phone calls, food and toiletries while in detention. The
men were sometimes paid around 50 cents an hour or $15 a week regardless of
the number of hours they worked, in violation of state and federal wage
laws, the lawsuit said. “They had no way of knowing if that was unlawful or
not until they consulted a lawyer,” Sellers said. “They were doing real
work like the rest of us work. They are entitled to be paid overtime. They
are entitled to be paid the prevailing wage. They were paid far below it.”
Amanda Gilchrist, spokeswoman for the Nashville, Tenn.-based CoreCivic,
said she couldn’t speak to the specifics of pending litigation. However,
Gilchrist said all work programs at CoreCivic’s U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement detention facilities are completely voluntary and
operated in full compliance with ICE standards. “We set and deliver the
same high standard of care — including three daily meals, access to health
care and other everyday living needs — regardless of whether a detainee participates
in a voluntary work program,” Gilchrist said in a statement. Sellers said
the men were not facing criminal charges and are now U.S. residents living
in Maryland and Ohio. The men are seeking an unspecified amount in back pay
and damages. Attorneys said they believe as many as 1,000 other immigrants
held at the Cibola County Correctional Center might have worked for
similarly low wages and could be entitled to relief. Last year, a federal
judge ruled that Washington state could pursue its lawsuit seeking to force
GEO Group — one of the nation’s largest operators of privately run
immigration detention centers — to pay minimum wage for work done by
detainees. The for-profit company runs the Northwest Detention Center, a
1,575-bed facility in Tacoma, Wash., where detainees are held pending
deportation proceedings.
Jan 6, 2018 usnews.com
Official: Cibola County Facing Prospect of Bankruptcy
GRANTS, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico county is facing the
prospect of bankruptcy in 60 days and the likelihood of having to move
forward with layoffs and liquidate assets, officials said. Cash-strapped
Cibola County is in "crisis mode" after years of overspending and
the recent discovery that it sent a bounced check to the for-profit prison
company CoreCivic, interim County Manager Valerie Taylor said. The Gallup
Independent reports that Taylor has contacted the New Mexico Department of
Finance and Administration Local Government Division Special Director
Michael Steininger to straighten out the finances. Taylor said in all
likelihood the state would bail out Cibola County with a loan and establish
a repayment plan for the county if it can't pay its debts. "If we do not make significant changes, I believe we are going to
be insolvent by the end of February," Taylor said at a county
commissioners meeting. The county overspent by $9.5 million from 2013 to
2016 and wrote the $7 million bounced check to CoreCivic in November. The
county has a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to
serve as a pass-through for payments to CoreCivic, which houses immigrant
detainees at a prison in Milan. The county receives money from ICE and in
turn sends payments to CoreCivic using the federal funds. Taylor said the
county had dipped into $5.6 million of the ICE money and was still in need
of another $2.6 million to cover a shortfall from the November payment.
Since the check bounced, a separate account has been set up to make
payments to CoreCivic, the newspaper reported. The county also is
liquidating $3 million from a money market account with the Bank of New
Mexico. Taylor said she plans to recommend liquidating some county
property. "But that's a very slow process," she said. "It
does not help us out in the short-term to cover a big debt, so we need to
be looking at every dime." The financial outlook in the coming year
appears bleak, with tax revenues down and the county already tapping its
reserves. "We just don't have any funds. We can't keep writing out
checks," said Commissioner Martha Garcia, who was sworn into the post
last January. "Many people won't like what's going to be coming down,
but we have to, because if we don't, the county's broke. And what happens
after that?"
Aug 2, 2016 kob.com
Prison in Cibola County to close in October
A New Mexico prison announced Monday it will be closing its doors later
this year. The Cibola County Correctional Center in Milan, which is near
Grants, will close for good on Oct. 1, according to the Cibola Beacon.
About 300 jobs will be affected. “Just sad, a lot of broken hearts,” said Amy
Degroat, who lives in Milan. “I mean it's just … there are families where
Mom and Dad both work there. It just … it sucks. I'm trying to be hopeful
because the women’s prison across town almost lost their contract. I'm
trying to be hopeful, but it's not looking good. The privately owned,
minimum-security facility has been operated by the Corrections Corporation
of America since 1998. According to statement from the CCA, the Federal
Bureau of Prisons did not renew its contract with the facility. Steve Owen,
managing director of communications for the CCA, said they are disappointed
with the Bureau of Prison’s decision but will continue its operations until
October. “Because we have just learned of the decision, we are still
working through the timing and logistics of the transition process with the
BOP,” Owen said in the statement. “Our top priority now is ensuring that
any staff member who wants to continue his or her career with our company
has the opportunity to do so. For employees unable to transfer, our team is
coordinating efforts to help them find jobs in the local area.” In the
years since the prison opened, it has seen a couple of large inmate
protests. In 2001, more than 600 inmates refused to return to their cells,
and were eventually tear gassed. The protest was over the quality of the
food. Then in 2013, around 250 inmates held a peaceful demonstration in the
prison yard. After several hours, they returned to their cells. Prison
officials did not reveal the reason for that protest.
03/27/2013
kob.com
About
250 inmates at the private Cibola County Correctional Center were
reportedly being "non-compliant" to guard’s orders and gathered
in the prison’s recreation yard for several hours Wednesday. The Cibola
County undersheriff tells KOB the inmates are "being peaceful."
The unrest began at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and was continuing at least
through 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Law enforcement called to set up
outside the scene include New Mexico State Police, Grants Police, Milan Police
and the Cibola County Sheriff’s Department, as well as guards from other
prisons. The Cibola County Correctional Center is all-male,
minimum-security facility with 1129 beds run by the Corrections Corporation
of America. KOB has a crew on the way – stay with us for details.
03/27/2013
kob.com
About
250 inmates at the private Cibola County Correctional Center were
reportedly being "non-compliant" to guard’s orders and gathered
in the prison’s recreation yard for several hours Wednesday. The Cibola
County undersheriff tells KOB the inmates are "being peaceful."
The unrest began at about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and was continuing at least
through 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. Law enforcement called to set up
outside the scene include New Mexico State Police, Grants Police, Milan
Police and the Cibola County Sheriff’s Department, as well as guards from
other prisons. The Cibola County Correctional Center is all-male,
minimum-security facility with 1129 beds run by the Corrections Corporation
of America. KOB has a crew on the way – stay with us for details.
Dec 30, 2012
cibolabeacon.com
CIBOLA COUNTY – A three-year tax dispute was settled in less than 10 hours,
according to Cibola County Commission Chairman Eddie Michael. Recently,
Chairman Michael, along with an attorney for Risk Management, met with
representatives from the Correction Corporations of America (CCA) in
Albuquerque to settle a three-year-old property tax dispute. CCA is
contracted to manage the Cibola County Corrections Center in Milan and the
New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility in Grants. The Milan men’s prison
has nearly 1,500 inmates while the Grants women’s prison has slightly more
than 500. Apparently, CCA was disputing the amount they have been charged
in property taxes since 2010. Their property tax had gone from a taxable
value of $52 million in 2009 to $78 million in 2011, Michael said to the
Beacon last week. CCA was disputing their taxable value for 2010, 2011 and
2012. “In today’s economy, I don’t know how property tax can be raised so
high,” Michael said in regard to the hike. He did note that in 2010, the
state had mandated the county to raise property taxes 15 percent because
they hadn’t raised taxes in several years. “Besides that, I don’t
understand why there would be such a big increase,” Michael said. After
eight hours of negotiations, Michael and CCA, in a handwritten agreement,
settled on a taxable value increase of $2.4 million, from $52 million to
$54.4 million, for the Milan prison, and, from just more than $26 million
to $28 million for the Grants prison. “Ultimately, CCA and the county felt
$54 and $28 million were fair,” Michael explained. “I asked the rest of the
commissioners, in closed session on Dec. 12, for approval on the deal. On
Monday, Dec. 17, they voted unanimously to support it. Following the
settlement, the county will receive $2.7 million in tax revenue from CCA
for years 2010, 2011 and 2012. “This will hike our cash reserves to
approximately $8 million,” said Michael. “We had been working on this for
two years. We finally got the chance to sit down and get the deal done, and
now we move on. “It was my job to work the deal, ultimately, it is the
commissioners’ decision to support it or not. Thankfully they did.”
According to Michael, as of late last week, the deal was still based on the
handwritten agreement. However, Michael said he expected everything to
become official by the end of this week. The Beacon was unable to reach CCA
officials for comment yesterday because their corporate offices are closed
on weekends.
September 19, 2007 AP
The state Court of Appeals has ruled that a private prison company is
not entitled to a refund of taxes for operating prisons that house inmates
for the state and federal governments. Corrections Corporation of America
had sought a refund of state gross receipts taxes, claiming it was allowed
a deduction for the leasing of its prisons under agreements with the
Department of Corrections and the federal Bureau of Prisons. The Court of
Appeals concluded Tuesday there was no lease of real property. "The
fact that CCA had the right to fill up any extra space with inmates from
other jurisdictions coupled with the governmental entities' paying based on
the number of inmates housed, makes these agreements look more like those
between 'hotels, motels, rooming houses, and other facilities' and 'lodgers
or occupants' than leases for real property," the court said in an
opinion written by Judge Michael Bustamante. The company built and owns
prisons used by the state and other governments: the New Mexico Women's
Correctional Facility in Grants, the Cibola County Correctional Center near
Milan and the Torrance County Detention Facility at Estancia. In 2002, the
company filed for a refund of nearly $2.5 million for taxes from January
1999 to October 2002. A state district court in Santa Fe ruled against the
company in 2005.
September 18, 2007
AP
The state Court of Appeals has ruled that a private prison company
isn't entitled to a refund of taxes for operating prisons that house
inmates for the state and federal governments. Corrections Corporation of
America had sought a refund of state gross receipts taxes. The company
claimed a deduction for the leasing of its prisons under agreements with
the Department of Corrections and the federal Bureau of Prisons. The court
ruled today that there was no lease of real property. In 2002, the company
filed for a refund of nearly $2.5 million for taxes from January 1999 to
October 2002. In its appeal, the company dropped some claims but didn't
specify the amount of refund it was seeking. CCA operates a prison at
Grants that houses state female inmates. It also has a prison in Torrance
County and contracts with the Bureau of Prisons to hold federal inmates
near Milan in Cibola County.
August 30, 2007 Cibola
Beacon
The Beacon recently received several calls from residents concerned about
the safety of the community because of the staff shortage in the areas
prisons. All three prisons, Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in
Grants, Cibola County Corrections Center (AKA Four C's) in Milan and the
New Mexico Women's Correctional Facility, also in Grants, are currently in
need of correctional officers. Four C's in Milan is the most needful of
officers. Currently, it is 38 officers short. The facility has a total of
159 CO positions, therefore it is now understaffed by 24 percent. “First,
there is absolutely no risk to be concerned about,” Warden Walt Wells said
on Wednesday. “We continually analyze the staff to be sure we have the
adequate staff to protect our inmates, employees and the community. We'll
never let it fall to the level to where there is a risk.” According to
Warden Allan Cooper at the Grants women's facility, Americans Corrections
Association says the ratio of inmate to corrections officer should be about
580 inmates to 76 staff, about 65 of the latter being correctional
officers. “The public will never be at risk,” said Cooper. Cooper's
Administrative Assistant, Lisa Riley, said they have to fill all the posts
no matter what. “If it costs us lots of overtime, that doesn't matter,”
Riley said. “We have our requirements that have to met by the state.”
July 4, 2006 Cibola
Beacon
Cibola County Undersheriff Johnny Valdez announced Friday that
marijuana was recently found at two local prisons. CCSO Deputy Mike Oelcher
and Deputy Dog Ashe found a small amount of marijuana in an inmate’s bunk
at the Cibola County Detention Center and behind a pay phone typically used
by inmates in the common area of a pod last Tuesday. Burnt residue weighing
.2 grams found in an inmate’s bunk will not result in charges, he
explained. Even the district attorney did not want to press charges even
though bringing drugs into a prison, regardless of amount is a third-degree
felony, according to CCSO officials. No one will be charged for the marijuana
found behind the pay phone either. “It’s a common area and they can’t
charge any one with it,” said Undersheriff Valdez. CCSO arrested
Corrections Corporation of American Women’s Correctional Facility inmate
Stephanie de Santiago, 22, of Roswell, for possession of marijuana at the
facility a week ago Monday. The drug was found during a routine search of
the inmate after she spent time with a visitor. The marijuana tested
positive with a test kit at the prison, which allows probable cause for the
arrest, said CCSO spokesman Lt. Harry Hall. Lt. Hall said the street value
for the marijuana is not known at this time, but the district attorney’s
office will prosecute Santiago and possible charges are pending against the
visitor who brought the drug into the facility.
A teacher at Cibola County Corrections
Center has been charged with criminal sexual penetration for allegedly
having sex with an inmate in a prison office. Ortega, who taught federal
inmates at the privately run center was having sex with an inmate May 20
when the prison's chief of security walked in on the couple, court
documents said. (The Associated Press, July 5, 2002)
An inmate protest at a privately-operated
prison was a result of concern about food and, for some prisoners, taxes,
authorities said. The protest, in which more than 600 inmates refused to
leave the exercise yard and go inside the Cibola County Correctional
Facility, lasted about 12 hours Monday. Inmates were unhappy with food
served, and with having to pay gross-receipts taxes on items purchased in
the prison's commissary, state police Capt. Glenn Thomas said. (KOAT/Daily
News, April 24, 2001)
Cimarron Correctional Facility
Cushing, Oklahoma
Jan
12, 2022 1600kush.com
Cushing prison employee accused of carrying tobacco & drugs into
facility
(Cushing,
Okla.) - A 30-year-old Stillwater man accused of bringing tobacco pouches
and Suboxone strips into the Cimarron Correctional Facility while he was an
employee on Dec. 29 has been ordered to appear in court on Feb. 1 with an
attorney on a felony charge of carrying contraband into the private prison
in Cushing. Nolan James Higgins, 30, was arrested at 7:44 pm on Dec. 29,
2021, by Cushing Police Officer Jason Beal and held in the Payne County
Jail until New Year's Eve when he posted $10,000 bail on the charge
punishable by one to five years in prison plus a fine of $100 to $1,000 on
conviction, court records show. The Cushing police officer, who had prior
experience as a correctional officer, was sent to the private prison at
6:21 pm that night on a report of an employee introducing contraband, his
affidavit alleged. CCF lead investigator Greg Jones "advised me
Higgins had been caught bringing in approximately 33 tobacco pouches and
approximately 100 Suboxone strips. I observed open tobacco pouches and
thin, yellow-colored strips with the number 8 stamped on them," laid
out on a table in the conference room, the Cushing officer alleged in his
affidavit. Suboxone strips can be used to treat an opioid addiction,
according to an Internet search. "CCF staff played a video showing
Higgins enter the CCF lobby. As he attempted to go into the metal detector,
the metal detector indicated the presence of metal. Higgins attempted to enter
again with the same effect. "After a few moments of standing in front
of the metal detector, Higgins walked west to the men's bathroom. Once he
returned from the bathroom, he passed the metal detector into the facility.
"I was advised by CCF staff that the front security guard had found
the behavior to be suspicious and had the bathroom checked. Inside the
bathroom, two cans of Jack Links jerky chew had been found with the
contraband inside," the Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit.
After Higgins was advised of his Constitutional rights by the officer,
"Investigator Jones asked Higgins if he would explain how we had
gotten to this moment. Higgins admitted he had been dissatisfied at the job
and stressed. "He had agreed to meet in Stillwater to pick up contraband,
transport it into the jail, and give it to the inmates at the cost of
$1,000 a container brought in. He stated he had picked up the containers
today," at about 5 pm before his shift. "He did not package the
contraband and had thought there was something inside one of them that was
setting off the metal detectors, which is why he had disposed of them in
the bathroom. He stated he did not know exactly what was in the containers
prior but suspected at least the Suboxone," the affidavit alleged. "After speaking with Higgins, I
placed him under arrest and transported him to the Cushing City Jail,"
the Cushing police officer wrote in his affidavit.
Sep
23, 20211 1600kush.com
Employee
accused of smuggling meth into Cushing
(Cushing, Okla.) - A 31-year-old Cushing man accused of smuggling
methamphetamine into the Cimarron Correctional Facility while he was
employed there on Sept.13 has been ordered to appear in court on Oct. 4
when he can seek a preliminary hearing on the felony charge. If convicted of
carrying contraband into the Cushing private prison, Wesley Johnlee
Weiesnbach could be incarcerated for one to five years and fined $100 to
$1,000, according to the charge filed last week. Weiesnbach remains free on
$2,000 bail, court records show.
Weiesnbach was arrested at 6:41 pm on Sept. 13 at the prison by
Cushing Police Officer Kurt McKean, who had been sent there about 50
minutes earlier on a report that an employee was introducing contraband
into the facility, according to his affidavit. CCF lead investigator Greg
Jones "advised he had been investigating Wesley, as he had previous
knowledge Wesley was conspiring with CCF inmates to introduce contraband
into the facility, namely methamphetamine. "Jones advised me he
possessed numerous phone call recordings between Wesley and various inmates
in reference to the introduction of contraband," the Cushing officer
alleged in his affidavit filed last week. "Inv. Jones led me to his
office and showed me three small water bottles which he seized from Wesley
upon his entry into the facility. It appeared the water bottles were not
sealed and the liquid contained within the bottles appeared to be slightly
thicker than water.I suspected the substance to be methamphetamine in
liquid form," the Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit. The
Cushing officer performed a field test on a substance from one of the
bottles that was presumptive positive for methamphetamine, the affidavit
alleged. In the warden's office, "I asked Wesley what happened and he
advised in August he formed a friendship with an inmate he only identified
as 'Roberts.' Wesley advised he gave Roberts his person cell phone number
on August 7 of 2021. Wesley advised Roberts and he spoke on the phone with
regularity and Roberts convinced him to begin bringing items into the
facility for the inmates," the Cushing officer alleged in his
affidavit. "Wesley advised he traveled to Prague to pick up water
bottles, red bull cans and two cans of nicotine to bring into the facility.
Wesley initially advised me he did not know the individuals' names he
picked up the contraband from. At that time, I gave Wesley a sarcastic
glare and he then told me the individuals were named Georgina and Heather,
but did not know their last names," the Cushing officer alleged in his
affidavit. "I asked him how much the inmates were paying him to bring
in contraband, and he advised $500 for two trips. Wesley advised he
successfully concealed one load of contraband and introduced it into the
facility in the previous weeks. Wesley advised me he did not know what was
in the bottles or the red bull cans," but suspected it was illegal,
the Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit. "I placed him under
arrest and transported him to the Cushing City Jail," the Cushing
officer wrote in his affidavit. "Prior to leaving the facility, Inv.
Jones provided me with a copy of Wesley's written statement to CCF and
advised he seized additional contraband from Wesley and intended on
following up with me at a later time to give me the items," including
red bull cans suspected of containing additional illegal substance and
nicotine, the Cushing officer alleged in his affidavit.
Feb
2, 2019 1600kush.com
Cushing
Prison Employee Admits Carrying Contraband In Facility
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Chandler
woman has admitted carrying contraband, described as cell phones, marijuana
and tobacco, into the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing while she
was employed at the private prison on Jan. 4, 2018. Brooke LeDawn Dixon,
29, was placed on five years’ probation with extensive conditions including
being prohibited from visiting any facility where inmates are housed, in
accordance with a plea bargain approved by Payne County Associate District
Judge Stephen Kistler last week. Dixon was ordered to have a substance abuse
evaluation, perform any recommended follow-up, undergo random drug testing,
do 100 hours of community service and pay a $500 fine, court records show.
According to a prison worker who was checking employees at the front lobby,
“when Dixon went through the metal detector, the metal detector went off,”
Cushing Police Officer Bill McCarty wrote in an affidavit. “Dixon went
through the metal detector three times before he contacted his shift
supervisor,” the affidavit said. A shift supervisor “had Dixon walk through
the metal detector again, and the metal detector did not clear Dixon,” the
affidavit said. “Dixon stated she had met a lady and received packages from
the lady,” the affidavit said. “Dixon told me she purchased a car in August
and did not have the money to purchase the tag. Dixon told me the tag was
going to cost her around $800,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit.
Dixon said that she was approached by an inmate who “told her if she would
bring some stuff in to him, he would purchase her car tag,” the affidavit
said. The inmate was convicted in 2008 of first-degree rape in Oklahoma
County in 2005, for which he is serving a 30-year prison term, state
Department of Corrections records show. The inmate was also convicted of
drug distribution, acquiring proceeds from drug activity, and carrying a
firearm, all in 2005 in Oklahoma County, DOC records show. Dixon said that
the inmate “instructed her to meet a lady in Edmond where she received the
three items,” the affidavit said. Dixon said she did not know the lady or
what was in the packages, the affidavit said. When the Cushing officer
opened the three items wrapped in black tape, one contained five mini-cell
phones, another had 1.6 ounces of what appeared to be pipe tobacco, and
another had 2.8 ounces of a substance that field-tested as marijuana, the
affidavit said. Since Dixon was given a deferred sentence last week, she
will not have a record of the offense if she successfully completes the
terms of her probation.
Oct 10, 2018
1600kush.com
Visitor Charged with Carrying Meth into Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A visitor at the Cimarron Correctional Facility
has been charged with carrying methamphetamine into the private prison in
Cushing on Sept. 30, court records show.
Maria Luisa Lopez, 33, of Midwest City, remains free on $5,000 bond
pending a Nov. 8 court appearance with an attorney. A female employee said “she was
working the front lobby when she observed Lopez enter the visitors’ restroom,”
on Sept. 30, Cushing Police Officer Justin Sappington wrote in an
affidavit. The employee said
“when Lopez exited the restroom, she noticed a bulge in her cheek,” that
contained a baggy of a crystalline substance, the affidavit alleged. In an interview with the Cushing
police officer, “Lopez advised she was asked to make a one-time delivery
into the prison to her boyfriend,” the affidavit alleged. “Lopez told me she did not know what
was in the package, but knew it wasn’t good if she had to sneak it in.
Lopez advised she felt better not knowing what she was sneaking in,” the
officer alleged in his affidavit.
“Lopez stated that she attempted to hide the contraband in her cheek
and was caught by an employee,” the affidavit alleged. The baggy of crystalline substance
tested positive for methamphetamine, the affidavit alleged. Carrying contraband into a prison is a
felony punishable by one to five years in prison and a fine of $100 to
$1,000, on conviction.
Jul 24, 2018
1600kush.com
Convict Charged
With Stabbing At Cushing Prison
(Stillwater,
Okla.) – A former prisoner at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing
has been charged with stabbing another inmate 21 times on Oct. 5, 2017,
court records showed today. Christian E. Fonseca, 21, could receive as much
as a life prison term if convicted of assault and battery with intent to
kill after a former felony conviction, according to the charge filed in
Payne County District Court last week. Fonseca has been scheduled to be
arraigned on the Payne County stabbing charge on Sept. 6, court records
show. At the time of the stabbing at the private prison in Cushing that was
investigated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Fonseca was serving
two concurrent 25-year prison terms for robbing two Tulsa convenience
stores in 2016 when he was 19, court records show. His alleged victim, then
20, was serving a 15-year prison term for possession of methamphetamine
with intent to distribute in 2017 in Oklahoma City, court records show.
Fonseca and his alleged victim have been transferred from the private
facility in Cushing to another prison in Oklahoma, DOC records show.
Jun
13, 2018 1600kush.com
Convict Charged with Stabbing Inmate at Cushing Prison
(Stillwater, Okla.) – A former convict at the Cimarron Correctional
Facility was charged today with assault and battery with intent to kill an
inmate at the private prison in Cushing on Oct. 5, 2017, in a case
investigated by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Eduardo Leiva, 36,
who has been transferred to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester,
was charged with using an improvised knife to cut, slash and stab another
prisoner 21 times “inflicting deep, serious and grievous wounds likely to
produce death,” according to court documents filed today by Payne County
Assistant District Attorney Tom Lee. The victim survived and was
transferred to another prison in Oklahoma, court records show. If convicted
of the Cushing prison stabbing, Leiva could be given as much as a life
prison term, court records show. According to court records, Leiva had been
convicted of 11 counts of armed robbery in Oklahoma County in 2009 for
which he is serving 10 concurrent 30-year prison terms and one concurrent
35-year prison term.
Apr 26, 2018
readfrontier.org
Charges dropped
against all prisoners accused of participating in prison fight that left
four dead
Steven Ray
Thompson, Johnathan Richard Whittington, Phillip Wayne Jordan, Jr., Jordan
James Scott, James Augustine Placker, Gage Broom, and Korey L. Kruta were
each charged in 2017 by the Payne County District Attorney’s Office with
participating in a riot, a felony that carries a penalty of up to life in
prison. The charges were filed two years after the Sept. 12, 2015 fight
between the Irish Mob and Universal Aryan Brotherhood prison gangs at the
privately-owned Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing left four
prisoners dead. Anthony Fulwider, 31, Kyle Tiffee, 23, Christopher Tignor,
29, and Michael Edwin Mayden Jr., 26 were all killed during the melee. At
the time the charges of participating in a riot were filed, Payne County
District Attorney Laura Thomas said those charges were filed because there
was not enough evidence to charge any of the men with murder. Surveillance
video from the prison was too low-quality to establish who exactly stabbed
who, and reliable witness statements were also hard to come by, Thomas said
at the time. However, on April 18, a judge granted a request by defense
attorneys that the participating in a riot charge against Jordan be
dismissed due to lack of evidence after questions were raised about the
prison’s employees who identified the alleged assailants. On Friday, two
days after the judge dismissed Jordan’s case, Thomas filed motions to
dismiss the charges against the other six men as well. “At the time of the filing
of the charges the investigative report confirmed each defendant could be
identified as a participant by employees of the correctional facility,”
Thomas’s motions to dismiss state. “Some defendants have had preliminary
hearings at which the ability of employee/witnesses to identify individuals
became questionable at best.” One “critical witness” — Terrance Lockett,
who was the only correctional officer on duty in the unit at the time the
fight erupted — had later been arrested for attempting to bring drugs into
the prison, Thomas’s filing states. The District Attorneys Office also
discovered last Wednesday that it was prosecuting a second prison employee
who was listed as a witness in the case, Thomas said. “Each of the riot
cases stand on the same evidence as the other,” the filings states. At the
time Jordan’s case was dismissed by the judge, the Thomas’s office was
already preparing motions to dismiss all of the cases, Thomas said. During
Jordan’s preliminary hearing, correctional officers could not identify
Jordan actively participating in the riot in surveillance video of the
fight, according to a motion to dismiss filed by Jordan’s attorney. “From
the preliminary hearings that were held, the witness testimony on
identification was not good at all,” Thomas said. In the Oklahoma
Department of Corrections’ investigator’s report, witnesses had said they
could identify with certainty the defendants coming down the stairs in a
group and what some of those defendants did, Thomas said. “However, on the
witness stand identification was not only not clear, there was testimony
that it was a group effort to identify participants and the witnesses
couldn’t even say who all was in the room, much less whose handwriting was
on the photo or who identified who,” Thomas said. “In short, the evidence
of identification disintegrated to the point that our collective decision
was that we did not have enough credible evidence to make it past the
‘proof beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard we would have at trial.”
Meanwhile, the company that owns the prison, CoreCivic (formerly known as
Corrections Corporation of America), is still facing three civil lawsuits,
two by family members of prisoners who died and one from an injured
prisoner who survived, stemming from the fight. In one of those cases,
involving Mayden’s estate, CoreCivic joined several prisoners, some of who
had been charged in connection with the riot, as third party defendants,
meaning they could be held financially liable as well if the case is
decided in the plaintiff’s favor. Attorney J. Spencer Bryan, who is
representing a deceased prisoner’s family and a surviving prisoner in the
civil litigation, said that after learning that the criminal charges were
being dismissed because a lack of credible witnesses, he requested that an
affidavit filed in one of the civil cases by CoreCivic’s attorneys be
unsealed for the sole purpose of providing it to Thomas’s office. Bryan
said he could not divulge the contents of the affidavit because it is
sealed. CoreCivic’s attorneys rejected the offer, Bryan said. The affidavit
by a “key staff member at the Cimarron Correctional Facility” which is
filed under seal in one of the civil cases and therefore not publicly
available, was mentioned in a June 16, 2017 court filing by CoreCivic in
support of the company’s motion to deny consolidation of two of the civil
cases against it. “In the affidavit, the staff member will discuss the
incident of September 12, 2015 and the actions of the inmate gang
participants during the incident,” CoreCivic’s filing states. A phone
message late Tuesday afternoon to CoreCivic’s attorney in the case was not
immediately returned.
Apr 3, 2018
1600kush.com
Sex Charges Dropped Against Former Cushing Prison Employees
(Stillwater, Okla.) –
Sex-related charges have been dropped against two former female employees
of the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Cushing, who then admitted they
had communicated with an inmate at the private prison by a cell phone,
which is prohibited, court records show. Both women were placed on three
years’ probation for unlawful access to a computer to violate Oklahoma
laws, Payne County Assistant District Attorney Debra Vincent told KUSH in
an email last week. Former
Cushing prison guard Sara Lynn Stelzer, 36, of Stillwater, who was
originally charged with sexual battery of an inmate in March 2014, was
investigated by Oklahoma Department of Corrections Agent Randy Knight after
CCF Investigator Joe Sebenick interviewed the alleged victim at the request
of another prisoner regarding an inappropriate relationship between the
alleged victim and the guard, court records show. Another former Cushing prison
employee, Lisa Marie Shannon, 37, of Drumright, who was originally charged
with second-degree rape of an inmate on Dec. 15, 2015, was employed at the
private prison in Cushing from Oct. 8, 2007, until Feb. 1, 2017, according
to an affidavit by DOC Agent Robert L. Hert III. The prosecutor told KUSH,
“we did discuss these dispositions with representatives of DOC and they
were satisfied that the significant consequences of felony convictions was
a satisfactory consequence from their perspective.”
Oct 11, 2017
readfrontier.org
Documents and video detail deadly gang fight at private Cushing prison;
facility responded to riot by destroying records
There was terror in Terrance Lockett’s voice. The 52-year-old
correctional officer had only been on the job for about eight months, and a
chaotic and bloody scene was unfolding before him. The only officer on the
unit, Lockett watched as members of the Irish Mob and Universal Aryan
Brotherhood prison gangs w |
