Home of JailSergeant.com

 ksandvig@jailsergeant.com 

Ex-Officer at Ford County Jail admits he abused inmate

March 5, 2011
The News-Gazette

URBANA – A former Correctional Officer at the Ford County Jail has pleaded guilty to a felony charge, admitting that he sexually abused a female inmate in her cell.

Phillip S. Santefort, 41, who listed addresses in Paxton and Buckley, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Urbana on Feb. 10 to one count of sexual abuse of a person in official detention. The charge says Santefort engaged in a sexual act with a female inmate during cell checks in summer 2009.

Santefort faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Michael P. McCuskey on May 20.

Santefort, whose trial had been scheduled for March 28, remains free on a $10,000 unsecured bond. His attorney, Reino Lanto of Paxton, did not immediately return a message requesting comment Friday. The U.S. attorney's office in Urbana declined to comment.

A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment against Santefort in October, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Santefort's employment as a correctional officer was terminated two weeks later. Santefort had been suspended with pay since June 8, after an eight-count lawsuit was filed, revealing allegations that he forced a female inmate to perform oral sex on three occasions.

In October, a federal judge agreed that the civil case would not be heard in U.S. District Court until the criminal case was resolved.

A status conference for the civil case is scheduled for March 31.

Santefort had a criminal record when he was hired as a courthouse security guard in August 2007 and later began working as a correctional officer at the Ford County Jail.

Santefort pleaded guilty in 2006 to misdemeanor theft – in a plea agreement in which four felony charges were dropped.

The charges alleged Santefort stole $26,000 in cash that had been seized from narcotics busts while he was employed with the Calumet City Police Department in suburban Chicago.

March 5, 2011
WITN.com

Burke County police have charged a jail officer with having sex with a female inmate several times in the past 14 months.

The Burke County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that 58-year-old Sergeant Thomas Edward Pearson was arrested Friday at the jail. Pearson was being held on $50,000 bail at a different detention center. He was scheduled for a court appearance Monday.

The News Herald of Morganton reported that Pearson resigned Friday.

Lieutenant Becky Weatherman says 32-year-old Alicia Camille Goode told investigators that Pearson gave her more freedoms in exchange for sex. Goode is awaiting trial on a murder charge.

Interim Jail Administrator Steve Whisenant says Pearson ran the jail at night. Whisenant says more security cameras will be added to try to prevent inapproriate contact between officers and prisoners.

Corrections Officers to check-out JailSergeant.com  It is my hope that if you are a Corrections Officer and you know damn well you are doing something illegal......STOP!

It is not worth it.  Please think about that.  You can't tell me you have nothing to lose.  The last thing I want to do is include YOUR news article to this page after your arrest. 

We tell our inmates all the time...."It's all about the choices we make in life".  Lets practice what we preach.
    Sergeant Sandvig 

Former Corrections Officer Gets 4 Years For Sex Crimes

March 4, 2011
WTOV.com

A former Noble County Corrections Officer in Ohio has been sentenced to four years in prison for sex crimes.

Craig Tschappat pleaded guilty in February to one count of sexual battery and two counts of solicitation. At his sentencing hearing on Friday, Tschappat said, "I've always taken responsibility for my mistakes and this is no different."

The victim was not in court, but Tschappat apologized, saying he feels "indescribable shame and regret for his actions." He also said, "It just seems like mere words aren't adequate to convey the sorrow and remorse that I feel."

The charges stemmed from incidents in Belmont County years ago. After more than a decade of staying silent, the victim came forward in July, prompting an investigation that let to Tschappat's arrest.

"That's not unusual. In the majority of these cases, it takes some time for a victim to gather courage to come forward," Belmont County Prosecutor Chris Berhalter said.

Tschappat worked as a corrections officer for the Noble County Correctional Institution for 12 years and was placed on leave when the allegations came to light. He was fired in September and has been in the Belmont County Jail for 166 days.

On Friday, Tschappat's defense asked the court to consider house arrest, but Berhalter said the offenses were too serious and argued for jail time.

"We're always going to seek a sentence like that because we feel we have a duty to make sure that not only are these individuals held accountable for what they've done, which is send a clear message that this is not going to be tolerated," Berhalter said.

Because Tschappat did not receive the maximum sentence, he will be eligible for judicial release. He will be required to register as a tier 3 sex offender for the rest of his life.

Jail Chief convicted of assaults

Jail Sergeant faces sex charge

Thomas Edward Pearson, 58, was arrested Friday and charged with sexual activity by a custodian. In this case, the word "custodian" refers to Pearson's role as overseer at the facility. The charge is a felony, Burke County officials say.

Pearson has resigned his position at the Burke-Catawba Confinement Center, a jail facility in Morganton shared by Burke and Catawba counties.

According to the police report, Pearson is accused of having a sexual relationship for 14 months with Alicia Camille Goode, 32. Goode was jailed on murder charges, in connection with an August 2007 Burke County case in which a man was killed during what police described as a botched home invasion.

Pearson faces an initial court hearing Monday.

He is being held in the Caldwell County Jail, under $50,000 bond.

Correctional Officer charged with bringing marijuana to prison

March 08, 2011
The Times News



A Caswell County Correctional Officer has been arrested on drug charges.

Tavaries Cordero Moore, 23, of Greensboro, is charged with possession of a controlled substance in a prison facility, aiding and abetting provision of drugs to an inmate, felony possession of marijuana and possession with intent to sell/deliver marijuana.

A press release from the Caswell County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were asked March 1 to help with a N.C. Department of Corrections investigation into possible drug possession by a Caswell Correctional Center employee. Investigators found 54.1 grams of marijuana “in a hidden drink compartment” before Moore was arrested.

His bond was set at $10,000.

Ex-Corrections Officer sentenced for taking bribes

Minneapolis (AP) — A former corrections officer has been sentenced after pleading guilty to accepting $5,000 in bribes from relatives of two inmates at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester.

Fifty-three-year-old Cheryl Wheeler of Wabasha was sentenced Tuesday to eight months in prison plus four months of home confinement. She also must perform 120 hours of community service.

Wheeler pleaded guilty last September to one count of bribery of a public official.

In her plea agreement, Wheeler admitted she demanded and received money from relatives of the inmates in exchange for giving the inmates tobacco. It happened from July 2009 through February 2010.

Former Washington County Jail Guard sentenced in inmate abuse case

March 10, 2011
Robert Patrick
STLToday.com

ST. LOUIS • A former Guard at the Washington County Jail who used inmate "enforcers" to attack other prisoners was sentenced Thursday to five years probation and six months of house arrest.

Valeria Wilson Jackson, 26, could have faced 21 to 27 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, but was rewarded for her cooperation in the investigation. She waived indictment and pleaded guilty of obstructing justice last year and testified against her father, former jail boss Vernon Wilson, in his trial this month.

Jackson, in her plea and at trial, said that Wilson used a violent inmate awaiting trial on murder and arson charges to enforce discipline in the jail. Unruly or disruptive inmates were placed in the cell block with that inmate and others. Attackers were rewarded afterward with cigarettes.

Jackson also admitted that she placed a Jefferson County man, Gary Gieselman, in Mackley's cell block on Sept. 29, 2005, and sarcastically told inmates to "play nice" and "have fun," as a signal that the inmate "needed to be shut up," according to her plea.

Wilson found out that Gieselman had annoyed and insulted his daughter, entered the cell block and got into a "heated argument" with Gieselman, prosecutors said, giving "further encouragement" for an attack.

Gieselman was beaten so severely that he was rushed to a hospital.

During Thursday's hearing, U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber said that Jackson's sentence may not appear to the public to be the appropriate punishment.

"That's O.K. because they will not fully understand the facts of this case," he explained, citing Jackson's cooperation and the "incredible amount of courage" it took to testify against her father.

Federal prosecutors also asked Webber to give Jackson a break, citing her cooperation.

Jackson will have to pay restitution to injured inmates and undergo a mental health evaluation and counseling for "issues. . . which may be post-traumatic stress disorder," Webber said.

Gieselman was in the courtroom for Jackson's sentencing Thursday, but spoke only to answer Webber, who asked if he was O.K. with the sentence.

Gieselman said in an interview after the hearing that he was "satisfied" with the sentence. He has filed a civil suit over the incident.

Jackson's lawyer, Scott Rosenblum, said, "There cannot be anything more difficult than a daughter who testifies against her father."

"At the end of the day, he was a bully. He got what he deserved and she got what she deserved," he said.

Wilson is scheduled to be sentenced on four civil rights charges and two counts of lying to the FBI on June 1.

Fired Sullivan Jail Captain charged with theft

24 years of employment....thrown away just like that.  Amazing.

                                                                         Sergeant Sandvig 

March 9, 2011
Claire Galofaro
TriCities.com

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. --

The recently fired administrative captain of the Sullivan County Jail, accused of using her county-issued gas card to pump fuel into another woman’s car, has been charged with three counts of theft.

Lori Beth Delp, 42, of Bell Street, Blountville, was fired from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 7 amid an internal investigation, according to a statement issued by the Sheriff’s Office two days later.

Local authorities handed the investigation over to state investigators, who placed the charges Tuesday.  

On Feb. 4, the clerk at a gas station on state Route 394 called the Bristol Tennessee Police Department to report “suspicious activity” at the gas pumps, according to a police report.

The clerk told police that a woman wearing a Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office uniform pulled a gold Chevy Impala with government tags up to pump No. 1 and got out, according to an affidavit filed Tuesday in Bristol General Sessions Court. Around the same time, a young, blond-haired woman parked a white Chevy Equinox on the opposite side of the pump. The clerk watched Delp activate the pump with a county-issued Fleet One gas card and start pumping fuel into her Impala, the affidavit states. Then she removed the pump from the Impala, walked around the pumping station and began putting fuel into the Equinox. In total, 13.617 gallons, worth $40.02, were pumped into the two cars, the affidavit states.

The Bristol, Tenn., police officer who responded previously worked for the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, according to the affidavit. He watched the security footage and recognized Delp.

Another clerk at the gas station told him “that this was not the first incident of this nature,” the affidavit states.

She said that on Dec. 23, Delp pulled into pump No. 7 in the same Impala and the same blond woman in the white Equinox pulled in across the way, at pump No. 8, according to the affidavit. The same Fleet One card was used to start the pump and Delp put $20.11 of gas into the Equinox, it states.

The clerk said that several months before that incident, on Aug. 19, she also watched Delp use the Fleet One card to pump $34.22 in gas into the white Chevy Equinox.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation “reviewed corresponding Fleet One receipts and Sullivan County Purchasing Department records of the aforementioned transactions which indicate significant discrepancies in miles per gallon and fuel tank holding capacities of vehicles involved in this incident.”

Delp worked for the Sheriff’s Office for 24 years, said LT. B.J. Richardson at the time of her termination. As the jail’s administrative captain, she oversaw the commissary, transportation, food service and work release programs.

The Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Capt. Keith Elton, declined to comment on the charges against her.

No one answered Wednesday at the Blountville phone number listed for Delp.

Delp was charged with three counts of theft less than $500, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

March 10, 2011
Dave Canfield
TroyRecord.com

ALBANY – A federal jury has convicted a Rensselaer County corrections officer who repeatedly struck a handcuffed inmate at the county jail in 2009, court officials said.

Keith R. Hancock, Jr., 39, conceivably faces more than a decade in federal prison on his conviction of two felonies: one for depriving inmate Michael Ward of his civil rights by striking him on Jan. 18, 2009, and another count for lying to FBI investigators.

The jury’s verdict was rendered Thursday morning. They deliberated all afternoon Wednesday after a day and a half of testimony.

The incident was captured on a videotape that jurors saw several times during the trial. It depicts Hancock approaching a circle of eight corrections officers surrounding Ward, who had just been handcuffed and was lying on the ground, before leaning in and thrusting his arm at the inmate.

The nature of that contact between Hancock and Ward, who had been talking back to officers and appears resistant but non-violent on the tape, was a subject of debate between prosecutors and the defense.

Prosecutors said a second strike was also visible on the tape, and fellow corrections offices testified that Hancock’s actions were not consistent with the department’s policies for using force.

Hancock joined the department in 2000 and was suspended days after the incident, which was brought to the FBI by Sheriff Jack Mahar.

Bexar Corrections Officer Indicted

DOJ: Raymond Quintero Violated Civil Rights Of 2 Jail Detainees

March 10, 2011
KSAT.com

SAN ANTONIO -- According to the Department of Justice, a Bexar County corrections officer was charged on Thursday in a two-count federal indictment with violating the civil rights of two detainees.

Prison suspends implicated Guard

March 11, 2011
TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER 
The Times Leader

WILKES-BARRE -- A Luzerne County  Prison Guard who was implicated, but not charged, in connection with a drug-smuggling operation within the county prison has been suspended pending further investigation, Warden Joseph Piazza said.

Cpl. Joseph Ciampi, a 21-year veteran at the prison, was suspended without pay on Friday, Warden Joseph Piazza said.

Ciampi was identified as one of the persons who purchased cocaine from Chris Walsh, a fellow prison guard who was among four people arrested Thursday by the state Office of Attorney General following a 13-month grand jury investigation.

Grand jury records released Thursday revealed that Ciampi testified before the grand jury in April that he had purchased cocaine from Walsh on several occasions between 2008 and 2009.

Ciampi, who began cooperating with authorities, also recorded a conversation between himself and Walsh in which Walsh coaches him on how he should testify before the grand jury, according to the documents.

Piazza said Friday he knew of the grand jury investigation but was not aware of Ciampi’s involvement in the case until Friday, when he read the grand jury report.

Former deputy warden Sam Hyder was also identified as a person who obtained drugs from one of the other four defendants, former nurse Kevin Warman, according to the report. Warman testified that he had supplied Hyder with 30 to 60 tablets per month of Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication, from 2007 to 2009.

Hyder has not been charged. His attorney, Peter Moses, on Thursday denied the allegations.

 By law, a state grand jury can recommend charges, but the actual charges are filed by a law enforcement agency, said Nils Hagen Frederiksen, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office.

The grand jury did not recommend charges be filed against Ciampi or Hyder. Frederiksen said he could not say why the grand jury opted to make the recommendations it did.

“The only thing we can comment on is what the grand jury has recommended. At this time, the grand jury has recommended charges against the four individuals we arrested (Thursday),”

Frederiksen said. “If there is additional evidence developed or if additional information becomes available, we will pursue that.”

Charleston County Jail Guard accused of punching prisoner

March 12, 2011
David MacDougall

WACO (March 10, 2011)--Former McLennan County jail guard Whitney Fleming, 27, pleaded guilty Thursday to having improper sexual relationships with two different male inmates.

The incidents happened on May 1, 2009 and July 1, 2009, prosecutors said.

State District Judge Matt Johnson ordered a pre-sentence investigation before formal sentencing.

The district attorney's office recommended probation in the case, but asked the judge to set any specific conditions of probation, which could include jail time or other requirements.

Jailers Arrested For Smuggling Booze To Inmates

March 11, 2011
KTBS.com

MANY -- Two Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Department jailers have been arrested on charges they smuggled whiskey to inmates at the parish jail.

Investigators said they suspect the jailers were bribed to smuggle alcohol into the Sabine Parish Detention Center on more than one occasion. Deputies Michael Wayne Carhee, 37, and Anthony Gary Bass, 26, have also been fired, Sheriff's Department officials said.

Prison Guard arrested

March 14, 2011
roanoke-chowannewsherald.com

WINTON, North Carolina – A Prison Guard found himself on the other side of the bars here last week.

Eric Lashawn Askew, 28 of Ahoskie, a Sergeant with Rivers Correctional Institute of Winton, was arrested by the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office on sexual assault charges.

Sheriff Juan Vaughan said Askew, who turned himself in on March 9, was charged with attempted second degree rape, a felony, sexual battery and assault on a female, both misdemeanors.

Vaughan said the alleged crimes took place against a female correctional officer at the private prison.

Askew was placed under a $25,000 secured bond and was released on the same day of his arrest. He made his first court appearance on Friday.

Sheriff Vaughan said officials at Rivers Correctional called his office to investigate the incident. HCSO Investigator John Joyner handled that task.

Hearing for Prison workers set

March 14, 2011
JENNIFER LEARN-ANDES
Times-Leader.com 

County officials will hold private hearings to determine what disciplinary action should be taken against three  Prison employees implicated in a recent drug ring arrest at the county prison.

The employees --- Jason Fierman, Chris Walsh and Cpl. Joseph Ciampi – will have an opportunity to answer questions and defend themselves through a Loudermill hearing, which is a formal procedure used by public employers when employees face termination or suspension, said Prison Warden Joseph Piazza.

Loudermill hearings give employees an opportunity to review evidence and respond to an employer’s claims against them, Piazza said after Monday’s prison board meeting.

In the meantime, all three employees remain suspended without pay, Piazza said.

Fierman and Walsh were arrested last week by the state Office of Attorney General after a 13-month grand jury investigation of drug activity at the prison.

Ciampi was not charged but was identified as one of the people who purchased cocaine from Walsh.

Grand jury records said Ciampi testified before the grand jury in April that he had purchased cocaine from Walsh on several occasions between 2008 and 2009.

Piazza said the Loudermill hearings have been scheduled for 2 p.m. today, and all three men have been invited to attend.

The county Prison Board will vote next month on any further disciplinary action that will be taken against the men, Piazza said.

The prison board also voted Monday to promote treatment coordinator Jennifer Lombardo to a new day reporting center director position. She will continue to receive $41,200 annually.

Piazza said five people were interviewed for the position, and the administration believed Lombardo would be the “best choice.”

“She’s really been the acting day reporting center director. She was there from the beginning, and she knows how the program operates and what we’re looking for,” Piazza said.

Lawsuit Filed Against Jailer Accused of Sex Abuse

March 16, 2011
kcrg.com

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A lawsuit has been scheduled against a former Dallas County Jail official accused of sexually abusing an incarcerated woman.

The woman is suing 60-year-old Kevin Hines and Dallas County for violations of equal protection and due process rights and for inflicting cruel and unusual punishment.

The woman alleges that Hines assaulted her three times on Dec. 6, 2008, when she was an inmate.

Hines, who resigned from the sheriff's department nearly two years ago, has pleaded not guilty of third-degree sexual abuse and sexual misconduct with an offender.

A plea hearing is scheduled for April 1.

The Des Moines Register reports that a civil trial is scheduled to begin May 7, 2012.

N.J. Corrections Officer admits trafficking 22 kilos of cocaine from Texas

March 16, 2011
Salvador Rizzo
nj.com

Trenton, N.J. - A suspended State Corrections Officer pleaded guilty to trafficking 22 kilograms of cocaine from Texas to New Jersey, the Attorney General's Office announced today.

Eugene W. Braswell, 31, of Newark, was arrested in 2008 on charges that he and five accomplices transported drugs from out of state and sold them in northern New Jersey. Authorities said he and Delrese Hardy, 37, of East Orange, supervised the four other traffickers. All six defendants have pleaded guilty.

“This senior correction officer was living a corrupt double life, guarding prisoners for the state while moonlighting as a major drug trafficker,” said Attorney General Paula Dow.

Two of Braswell's accomplices, Walter S. Braden, 33, and Shuerod Walton, 39, both of East Orange, were arrested in Warren County as they were returning from Houston on July 12, 2008. Detectives had a warrant to search their van and seized 22 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the vehicle's roof panels. Twelve days later, law enforcement officials searched Braswell's home and found drug packaging materials, a revolver and $17,020 in cash.

The investigation by state authorities was launched after a 2007 shooting outside Braswell's home in which the corrections officer returned fire on Waliford Williams, 34, who died at the scene.

“Braswell’s involvement in a fatal shooting in Newark raised a red flag for detectives of the State Police and Division of Criminal Justice, who subsequently uncovered his narcotics network,” said Stephen Taylor, director of the Division of Criminal Justice. “All six defendants in this case now face lengthy prison sentences.”

Braswell, who was suspended without pay from his job as a senior corrections officer at Northern State Prison following his arrest, faces up to 20 years in prison and up to 12 1/2 years without possibility of parole. He will also lose his job and state pension.

Prison Officer allegedly tries to sneak in marijuana, tobacco

March 15, 2011
Wesley Brown
Kinston.com



MAURY, N.C. — The nose of a drug-sniffing canine allegedly found more than an ounce of marijuana and bags of raw tobacco on a prison officer trying to sneak the goods into Maury Correctional Institution this weekend.

Edwin G. Edwards, 29, will make his first appearance in Greene County District Court Friday for felony charges of possession of a controlled substance on prison grounds and possession with intent to sell and distribute a controlled substance and misdemeanor charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and providing tobacco to an inmate.

Thanks to the astute pooch, officers recovered 37.5 grams of marijuana, five to six bags of tobacco and rolling papers from Edwards’ lunch bag and body shortly after 7 p.m. Sunday, said Capt. Daniel Hawkins, the arresting officer with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

Hawkins assisted officials with the N.C. Department of Corrections in a routine unannounced drug screening over the weekend at Maury Correctional Institution of all visitors, staff and vehicles entering the prison property, said Keith Acree, spokesman with the DOC.

“The dog hit on the marijuana when he entered facility and lined up in a row with everyone else to be searched,” Hawkins said of the arrest.

Edwards, a correctional officer at the state prison since June 2008, resigned Monday. He earned an annual salary of $28,484, Acree said.

“We do interdictions periodically as part of our strategy to keep drugs out of prison facilities,” Acree said.

Hawkins placed Edwards, of Greenville, in the Greene County Jail under a $10,000 secured bond. He has since posted bail.

Caught On Tape: Prison Guard beats suspect

Ummmm....doesn't look good to me.   Sergeant Sandvig

March 15, 2011 

Authorities at the Charleston County Sheriff's Office have released video of a Detention Officer repeatedly punching a female suspect in the face during a booking at the Charleston County Detention Center last December.

Woman says Jail Guard groped her

Filed lawsuit, pursuing sexual battery charges

March 16, 2011
wane.com

Ocala woman calls 911, confesses to shooting husband

March 17, 2011
myfoxorlando.com

OCALA, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A Marion County Corrections Officer reportedly called 911 on herself, after shooting her husband while he was sleeping, according to the Ocala Police Department.

"Around midnight last night, we received a 911 call in relation to a shooting that had just taken place," said Lt. Balken with the Ocala police department."

Police say when they arrived to the scene late Wednesday night, they found 52-year old Victor Puig laying in his bed with a gunshot would to the face and a 9mm handgun in the house.  His wife, Sylvia, reportedly surrendered and was arrested on the spot.

According to the arrest affidavit, Victor, a former corrections officer, appeared to have been sleeping on his back, with his head on a pillow and the covers pulled up to his chest. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died early Thursday morning.

Investigators say they believe a fight between the couple may have led to the shooting.

"It's disappointing," said Lt. Balken. "Anytime we someone involved in the law enforcement world involved in something like this is tragic and especially something like this. It seems so senseless."

Sylvia Puig is being held at the Marion County jail without bond. She is facing second degree murder charges.

Jail officer steals inmate's property, ends up behind bars

March 18, 2011
timesfreepress.com

A Fort Payne Corrections Officer spent time on the other side of the bars Thursday after he was charged with stealing $175 worth of an inmate’s property.

Jesse Aaron House, 19, of Fort Payne, was charged with theft following a Thursday investigation into an inmate’s missing property, according to a DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office release.

House resigned from his position, returned the stolen items and was released on a $500 bond, the release said.

Federal Prison Guard in San Diego accused of having sex with inmate

March 18, 2011
Tony Perry
LATimes.com

A Guard at the Federal Prison in downtown San Diego has been indicted on suspicion of having sex with an inmate, officials announced Friday.

Brandon McKinney, 34, a guard at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, is accused of having sex with a female inmate while on duty on July 20, 2010.

March 22, 2011
RUMMANA HUSSAIN
suntimes.com

When Dwayne Jones was arrested for bringing 10 grams of marijuana into Cook County Jail last year, he denied the drugs were his.

On Tuesday, the former correctional officer admitted he brought the cannabis to work and was sentenced to 18 months probation.

Sheriff’s officers searching Jones’ bag after they were tipped off about the contraband also found a cell phone, charger, earphones and DVDs of the Discovery Channel series “Cook County Jail” and MSNBC’s “The Squeeze,” which focuses on the roles of the sheriff’s gang intelligence officers, authorities said at the time of his arrest.

Officers are not allowed to have electronics while at the jail.

Jones, who was on probationary status since he had been on the job for less than a year, was immediately fired.

Jones, of the 10300 block of Walden Parkway, originally faced two counts of possession of contraband in a penal institution and one count of officer misconduct. He pleaded guilty to one count of bringing contraband to a penal institution Tuesday before Judge Nicholas Ford.

Jail faces suit over alleged fondling of inmate

A federal lawsuit filed last week by a former inmate accuses Lenawee County Jail officials of complicity in an alleged sexual assault by a guard last year.

The officer accused of fondling an Adrian man while dressing him in a jail uniform is also facing criminal charges in Lenawee County Circuit Court. Leo Merle Swinehart, 58, retired after being suspended during an investigation of the fondling accusation.
A suit filed for the 23-year-old Adrian man by Mount Clemens attorney Craig Tank alleges that Swinehart engaged in a “widespread pattern” of sexual abuse of inmates that was covered up in “a police code of silence.”

Sheriff Jack Welsh declined Monday to comment on the lawsuit. He said he had not yet received a copy of the complaint.

Parties were served notice on Friday that a suit was filed March 15 in United States District Court in Detroit. The suit seeks more than $75,000 in compensation for emotional and psychological damages and requests punitive damages.

A second-degree criminal sexual conduct charge was authorized against Swinehart last year after detectives from Ingham and Branch counties were brought in to investigate the inmate’s complaint, Welsh said last year.

Swinehart requested a psychological evaluation on Dec. 1 and was ruled competent to stand trial at a Feb. 16 hearing before Circuit Judge Margaret M.S. Noe. A trial in the criminal case is scheduled for April 18.

No hearings have yet been scheduled in federal court for the civil suit. According to the complaint, Swinehart allegedly fondled the inmate’s genitals and asked if he was gay while having him change into a jail uniform on March 10. The man was arrested the day before for operating while intoxicated.

The suit claims Swinehart was involved in at least four other incidents with inmates. The suit claims he was investigated for contacting an inmate after his release whom he intended to date. Two other inmates complained of being fondled by him, the suit stated, and Swinehart is accused of being involved in an incident in which an inmate was reportedly given cherry pie by officers for running naked through the jail.

Then-Sheriff Larry Richardson reported in 2006 he fired two jail officers after the 2006 cherry pie incident was investigated.

Tank claimed in the suit that supervisors were deliberately indifferent to Swinehart’s sexual abuse of inmates and that jail policies and practices included “ratification” of excessive force and criminal acts against inmates.

He claimed that county jail practices include: “A police code of silence wherein other correctional officers and supervisors habitually cover up improper acts, including excessive force, violent criminal and/or sexual acts of correctional officers by fabricating the accounts to the media and in official reports and internal affairs investigations, all of which are designed to falsely exonerate officers from potential civil liability.”

Trial opens for former Correction Officer

March 23, 2011
Milton Valencia
Boston.com

Moises Ballista, a former Correction Officer at the South Middlesex Correctional Center in Framingham, routinely had sexual relations with female inmates at the minimum-security, prerelease center for women. He acknowledged the actions in federal court yesterday.

Five years ago, he was sentenced to nine months in a county jail for violating state laws prohibiting relations between inmates and correctional officers, even when the sex is consensual.

But now a federal jury — made up of 10 women — will decide whether Ballista and his supervisors at the state Department of Correction violated the civil rights of one of the inmates, a case that could end in a damage award. The ruling could also put the same responsibility on state supervisors as on Ballista.

The woman, Christina Chao, 31, alleges that Ballista, capitalizing on his role as an officer, used his power to pressure her into between 50 and 100 sexual acts when she was an inmate eight years ago. She also asserts state officials failed to intervene, despite a history of similar accusations against Ballista.

Chao, who was incarcerated for drug dealing, said she could not complain out of fear she would be punished. The lawsuit alleges the wrongdoing was in violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

“It was their responsibility to protect female prisoners from sexual predators like Moises Ballista,’’ Chao’s lead lawyer, Andrew M. Fischer, said of the supervisors during opening arguments in federal court in Boston yesterday. “They’re responsible because they let him break the rules.’’

Matt Thompson, a lawyer for Ballista, 34, said yesterday that his client did not deny having sex with Chao, pointing out that he pleaded guilty to six state crimes in 2006. He was sentenced to nine months in jail.

However, Thompson said, the sex was consensual, and occurred after a lengthy time of flirting between Ballista and Chao, after Chao first arrived at the correctional facility in the spring of 2003. The relations went on for more than a year.

Thompson said Chao could not assert her civil rights were violated simply because she felt cheated or heartbroken. He argued that Ballista had at one point tried to end the relationship but that Chao wanted it to continue. Stephen Dietrick, deputy general counsel for the Department of Correction, argued that Ballista’s superiors could not be held responsible for consensual acts between an inmate and an “unprofessional’’ who had been taught proper protocol but ignored it.

Dietrick said Ballista was taught basic sexual policies in the years before he met Chao, after the Framingham center was changed from a men’s to a women’s facility. He also said that supervisors looked into reports of Ballista’s relations with women, but that Chao denied anything occurred at the time. Once the allegations were confirmed, Ballista was fired and subsequently charged, Dietrick said.

But Fischer, in his opening arguments yesterday, argued that correction officials received reports of Ballista’s relationships with inmates even before Chao arrived at the Framingham facility, but that the reports were not properly investigated.

Meantime, according to Fischer, Chao felt compelled to continue with the sexual acts.

Fischer used the testimony of a former inmate who was at the facility at the same time as Chao, to show that inmates followed a general rule that they not complain out of fear that they be disciplined, possibly even transferred to a more secure facility.

“You go back to . . . a closed-custody unit,’’ said Ethel Jones, a former inmate. “It’s one very small room . . . just a toilet, mattress . . . no one wants to go there, especially when you weren’t wrong, you were just treated like you were wrong.’’

March 21, 2011
1011Now.com

A former Nebraska Corrections Officer who did volunteer drug counseling with prison inmates has been given jail time and probation for selling marijuana.

The Columbus Telegram says Paul Hicks, of Columbus, was
sentenced in Platte County District Court last week to 30 months of probation for delivery of a controlled substance. Judge Robert Steinke also sentenced Hicks to 180 days in the Platte County Detention Facility. Hicks is to report to the jail this Friday to begin serving 90 days, with the remaining time to be served in 30-day increments in 2012 and 2013, unless waived by the court.

Hick, who counseled inmates at the state penitentiary on the dangers of drugs abuse, was accused of selling marijuana to an undercover informant on three occasions last year.

Salem Prison Guard sentenced for supplying contraband

March 21, 2011
Stacey Barchenger
StatesmanJournal.com

A former Officer at Oregon State Penitentiary was sentenced to probation today for bringing tobacco into the prison last year.

Tara Martinmaas, 34, pleaded guilty today to one charge of supplying contraband, a felony. She was ordered to comply with a 2-year term of court probation, pay more than $1,500 in fees and have no contact with Department of Corrections facilities or inmates.

A misdemeanor charge of custodial sexual misconduct, involving alleged romantic touching between Martinmaas and an inmate, was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Martinmaas brought tobacco, which is contraband, into the prison between September and November. She was hired with DOC in 2007 and worked at the state penitentiary, according to corrections officials.

Martinmaas’ attorney, Suzanne Taylor, said her client took responsibility by pleading guilty.

Prison Guard arrested

March 14, 2011
Cal Bryant
roanoke-chowannewsherald.com

WINTON – A Prison Guard found himself on the other side of the bars here last week.

Eric Lashawn Askew, 28 of Ahoskie, a Sergeant with Rivers Correctional Institute of Winton, was arrested by the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office on sexual assault charges.

Sheriff Juan Vaughan said Askew, who turned himself in on March 9, was charged with attempted second degree rape, a felony, sexual battery and assault on a female, both misdemeanors.

Vaughan said the alleged crimes took place against a female correctional officer at the private prison.

Askew was placed under a $25,000 secured bond and was released on the same day of his arrest. He made his first court appearance on Friday.

Sheriff Vaughan said officials at Rivers Correctional called his office to investigate the incident. HCSO Investigator John Joyner handled that task.

Morgan County Corrections Officer arrested on drug charges

March 23, 2011
Victoria Cumbow
The Huntsville Times

DECATUR, Alabama -- A Morgan County Corrections Officer was arrested this week after sheriff's officials busted him distributing drugs, said Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin.

Marquez Laroy Goodwin, 22, was charged with unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and his bond was set at $1 million.

Sheriff's officials received information that Goodwin, a corrections officer for more than a year, was selling narcotics both inside the jail and in the community, Franklin said.

Undercover officers set up an undercover drug sale with Goodwin as a target, Franklin said.

"He participated in the distribution of marijuana during the operation," she said.

Following the undercover sting, Goodwin was pulled over in a traffic stop and police recovered marked bills used in the sting and a pistol.

"We are not going to tolerate this behavior," she said. "The vast majority of corrections officers are hard working and honest people, and they don't want this behavior either."

Franklin said additional arrests are expected and could include more sheriff's employees. Franklin couldn't comment on how the sheriff's office received information on Goodwin, but said the investigation began immediately after.

Prison Guards Charged In Inmate's Beating

March 24, 2011
myfoxny.com

Former Washington Prison Guard sentenced to Jail

A former Stafford Creek Prison Corrections Officer has been sentenced to a month in JAIL for hiring someone to steal his car so he could file a fake insurance claim.

March 24, 2011
The Associated Press

The Daily World reports Keith A. Johnson pleaded guilty to theft in an agreement with the prosecutor who dropped a charge of filing a false claim.

Court records say Johnson talked to a prison inmate in 2009 about setting up the theft. The car was taken from a Tacoma parking lot and burned. Johnson filed an insurance claim for more than $15,000.

At the sentencing Monday, Grays Harbor Superior Court Judge Gordon Godfrey told Johnson, "If dumb was a crime, you'd be serving life."

Former Corrections Officer guilty of bribery

March 24, 2011
Associated Press

A former Corrections Officer at the Federal Penitentiary in Pollock has pleaded guilty to bribery and providing prison contraband.

Twenty-six-year-old Derrick Stevenson of Moreauville entered his plea on Wednesday.

According to testimony at the hearing, Stevenson admitted providing tobacco to a prison inmate for $1,000.

Stevenson faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 23.

Another inmate beaten at Jail

•Several Jailers fired earlier for excessive force

March 25, 2011
Clarion-Ledger

The Hinds County Sheriff's Department is investigating another inmate being assaulted at the Raymond jail following the firings of eight jailers and the suspension of a ninth.

The assault, however, is separate from the case involving the nine jailers on March 6.

It's clear inmate Charles Johnson, an accused murder and carjacking suspect in Jackson, was assaulted, a Sheriff's Department spokesman said Thursday.

"What is unclear at this point is who assaulted Charles Johnson and why Charles Johnson was assaulted," Lt. Jeffery Scott said.

Johnson's family has reported the assault to the FBI, a relative said Thursday.

The relative who didn't want to be identified, citing a fear of retaliation, said Johnson was beaten severely at the Detention Center in Raymond on Feb. 16, the day he turned himself in on the murder and other charges.

The relative said Johnson was shackled when he was allegedly beaten by jailers. She said Johnson suffered an eye injury in the attack.

In addition to reporting the incident to the FBI, the relative said a complaint has been lodged with the Sheriff's Department.

Confirmation of Johnson's assault came on the same day four of the eight fired jailers unsuccessfully appealed their dismissals by Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin for using excessive force with five or six inmates.

"I'm glad that the review board agreed with me that that was excessive force and firing was the appropriate punishment," McMillin said.

Appeal hearings for the other four fired jailers will be next week, Scott said.

Those fired had two to nine years of experience and included a sergeant. Whether they will face charges depends on the findings of an FBI investigation.

Evidence against the ex-jailers include surveillance tape of the incident, the Sheriff's Department has said.

The sheriff said he has placed the ninth jailer on a 30-day unpaid suspension "because he's still in training and did not know what he was supposed to do."

McMillin, who is campaigning for a sixth term, said Thursday afternoon he had not received any additional complaints involving excessive force by jailers.

Johnson's relative said they filed a complaint Thursday with the FBI about the beating.

She said the family didn't instigate an official complaint until after Johnson was transferred Wednesday from the Detention Center in Raymond to the Hinds County Jail in downtown Jackson.

Johnson, who is from Clinton, has been in the jail since Feb. 16, when he surrendered to sheriff's officials for allegedly killing 22-year-old Eugene Roberts on Feb. 15 and carjacking two vehicles, including a FedEx delivery truck the same day.

County Judge Houston Patton denied Johnson bond on Monday at Johnson's preliminary hearing.

Johnson, who has a prior felony conviction, confessed to the shooting, but said he shot Roberts because Roberts earlier had tried to kill him, according to police testimony Monday.

Facing three opponents in the Democratic primary in August, McMillin said he does not expect what has occurred at the jail to be a campaign issue.

"I've done the right thing," he said.

Ex-Iowa Corrections Officer Gets Probation For Sex

March 25, 2011
KCCI.com

BURLINGTON, Iowa -- A former Department of Correctional Services Residential Officer has been given probation for having sex with a Burlington halfway house resident.

The Burlington Hawk Eye reports the judge suspended a pair of two-year prison sentences for Megan Cecil, 32, of Donnellson, and instead gave her two years' probation and ordered her to register as a sex offender.

Cecil was sentenced Friday for two counts of sexual misconduct. Two other counts were dismissed as part of a plea deal.

Des Moines County prosecutors said Cecil had sex four times in March 2010 with a male resident of the Burlington Men's Residential Facility, where she worked.

Cecil had been a full-time residential officer at the facility since May 2008 but resigned last April. The Department of Corrections began investigating her soon after.

Jail Guard Accused Of Attacking School Employee

March 29, 2011
wftv.com

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. -- An Osceola County Jail Guard was arrested after she was allegedly caught on camera fighting a school employee at an elementary school.

Osceola County sheriff's investigators say the blurry school surveillance video shows Osceola County Jail Corrections Officer Maxine Lloyd confronting a school employee and then attacking him in front of several school employees. In the video, the employee is holding an umbrella.

"She moved the car, got out of the vehicle and became involved in a physical altercation with him," explained Twis Lizasuain, Osceola County Sheriff's Office.

According to the arrest report, Lloyd was picking up her child from Koa Elementary School in Kissimmee and had stopped her car right on the crosswalk. Investigators say, when a school employee directing traffic asked Lloyd to move her car forward, she identified herself as an officer than shoved the employee.

"She told the school official that she was an officer and she repeated that she was an officer. But that's not relevant in this case. She was arrested because it was a parent that got involved in a physical altercation with a school employee," Lizasuain said.

Lloyd drove away and left the scene, but several hours later was arrested at her home. She bonded out early Tuesday morning.

The jail wouldn't specify Lloyd's exact role, but according to Lloyd's personnel file she has been employed with Osceola County since 2005 and has had no previous disciplinary actions.

Lloyd was arrested and charged with battery. An internal investigation is underway to determine if she should be fired.

3 Guards indicted in beating of prisoner

March 30, 2011
Associated Press

AMARILLO, Texas — Three fired Prison Guards have been indicted over the alleged beating of an inmate at a maximum-security unit in Texas.

The Amarillo Globe-News reported Wednesday that a fourth indicted guard retired after the June 2010 incident at the Clements Unit.

A Potter County grand jury on March 9 indicted John Jowers II, Matthew Borunda, Robert Nixon and Jeremy Bevill on misdemeanor official oppression charges. Conviction carries a penalty of up to a year in jail.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jason Clark says Jackie Ronald Green is serving a life term for a 2007 killing in Smith County. Clark says Green was either threatening to or throwing things at the guards.

TCDJ fired Borunda, Nixon and Bevill shortly after the incident. Clark says Jowers resigned.

Jail Guard resigns after relationship with Inmate

April 1, 2011
Heather Sorentrue
cfnews13.com

MARION COUNTY, Florida -- 

A Marion County Jail guard quit her job after an internal investigation started looking into whether she had an inappropriate relationship with an inmate.

Marion County Sheriff's Office Corrections Officer Jillian Schulz, 28, was accused of being involved with inmate Anthony Nativio.

Nativio is a convicted felon with past charges related to possessing LSD with intent to distribute and possessing hydromorphone and oxycodone.

He has also been in trouble for leaving the scene of a crash with injuries.

Internal Affairs investigators said they received copies of around 70 calls that Nativio made while in jail to phone numbers linked to Schultz.

During the investigation, Schultz admitted to the relationship and eventually apologized and stated she would be ending it.

Schulz started working for the Marion County Sheriff's Office in 2003.

It happened this past November in the 600 block of Hamilton Street.

Police found a man lying on the sidewalk, suffering from head trauma.

They say the victim described his assailant's clothing as a correction's uniform.

That led them to Cedric Sutton, 53, of Whitehall.

Sutton was employed as a guard at the State Corrections Facility on Hamilton Street when the assault happened.

He was arrested this afternoon and is facing assault charges.

Chelan Co. Jail bribery nets Guard 2 years in prison

April 1, 2011
Associated Press

WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) - Former Chelan County Jail corrections officer Charles Storlie was sentenced to more than two years in prison Thursday in Wenatchee for taking bribes from inmates.

The 40-year-old pleaded guilty to three counts of bribery committed in September 2010 and documented by undercover investigators.

The Wenatchee World reports one inmate paid him $50 for a confiscated cell phone. Another paid $50 for a bag of fast food and a tin of chewing tobacco.

Investigators had also accused Storlie of taking $150 to allow an inmate's girlfriend to visit for sex.

Sioux Falls Man Sentenced in Assault With Firearm

Prison Guard indicted for marijuana charges

BRIDGETON - A South Woods State Prison Corrections Officer was indicted last week for official misconduct and possession with intent to distribute marijuana for allegedly planning to sell the drug to an inmate.

Aikeem Williams, 25, of the Glenn Park apartments, in Bridgeton, faces one count second-degree official misconduct, one count third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute and one count third-degree conspiracy.

Williams was charged with the offenses on Nov. 25, 2009, following an investigation by the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office Organized Crime Bureau and the Special Investigation Division at South Woods State Prison.

According to authorities, Williams attempted to enter the prison with 120 grams of marijuana. Before attempting to leave the facility, he was intercepted by law enforcement officials.

He was later found to be concealing 16 individually wrapped baggies containing marijuana concealed in his Department of Corrections winter jacket.

According to the indictment, Williams conspired with two individuals identified as William Burden and Kyle Taylor in order to carry out the crime.

Neither Burden nor Taylor are named as defendants in the indictment - only co-conspirators.

Upon arrest, he had been lodged in Cumberland County Jail on $250,000 bail. However, he has since been released

Former Prison Guard found guilty of battering inmate

Associated Press - April 6, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) - A veteran New York City correction officer is accused of agreeing to help an inmate escape jail in exchange for three kilos of cocaine and cash.

Authorities say an undercover federal agent helped thwart Robert Whitfield's plan. An accomplice also was arrested.

The city's Department of Investigation says the officer plotted the exchange of drugs for the inmate's escape from Rikers Island in phone conversations with a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. He was arrested Tuesday during a sting operation.

Whitfield was arraigned Wednesday in Manhattan. Defense attorney Peter Troxler did not immediately return a call requesting comment.

The 48-year-old Whitfield has been a correction officer since 1990.

Department of Correction Commissioner Dora B. Schriro (shree-ROH') said in a statement that the agency has "zero tolerance" for employees who compromise security.

April 7, 2011
Minna Sugimoto
hawaiinewsnow.com 

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An adult Corrections Officer on Thursday tearfully expressed remorse for abusing his authority and sexually assaulting a male inmate, who was living as a woman, at the Oahu Community Correctional Center two years ago.

Ryan Malasig, 44, was once tasked with guarding prisoners. At his sentencing, he did his best to avoid becoming one.

"It was a bad decision on my part," he said. "All I need to let you guys know is I'm deeply sorry for what had happened."

But prosecutors didn't buy it. They say Malasig had not taken responsibility whatsoever prior to sentencing, and asked a judge to impose a 10-year prison term, the maximum punishment for second-degree sex assault.

"If anything, he's remorseful about the fact that he's now found himself in a position of possibly facing 10 years," Leilani Young, deputy prosecutor, said. "Now the tears come. Now the 'I'm sorry' comes."

Prosecutors say the 33-year-old victim was on kitchen duty at OCCC, when the guard entered the module -- even though he was assigned to a different part of the facility -- and had the prisoner perform oral sex on him. The inmate kept a shirt that had Malasig's DNA on it and later turned it into authorities.

"You went above the law and violated your promise, your oath to protect and serve," the victim said in a letter that was read during the hearing. "You only thought of your own sexual desires. I hope you become an example to other corrections officers who might try to abuse their power."

The defense argued for a sentence of probation with no incarceration.

"He's led a completely law-abiding life," Craig Nagamine, deputy public defender, said. "He's never had contacts with the law. He's worked his entire life. He's a family man. He has children."

Circuit Judge Richard Pollack handed down an 18-month jail term and ordered state sheriffs to take the former corrections officer into custody immediately.

"Mr. Malasig, you took gross advantage of your position to commit the criminal conduct in this case on a very person that you were required to oversee and, in one sense, protect," the judge said.

The defendant pleaded no contest to the charge. He must register as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.

Facing allegations of inmate beatings at the Raymond Detention Center, Hinds County Sheriff Malcolm McMillin has fired 9 more Detention Officers.

The investigation into excessive force used on a handcuffed and shackled inmates remains on-going.

This comes on the heels of the alleged jail-house beating of inmate Charles Johnson.

"This is not an announcement that I like to make," Sheriff McMillin said. "But it's necessary when one is in the process of clearing our own house."

The photo's were allegedly taken inside a Jackson hospital by 4 of the 9 jailers who were fired.

They show Charles Johnson, 32, severely beaten.

A cigarette was placed in his mouth allegedly by the guards who took the photo's. Johnson was jailed February 16 for murder and the armed carjacking of a Fed Ex truck driver.

Sheriff McMillin says his investigation is not over.

"With the publicity given these two cases that there will be additional complaints and as they come in they will be verified as to the truthfulness of those reports."

Sheriff Malcolm McMillin launched an internal investigation with the new round of firings.

"If we have a violation of orders, if we have use of inappropriate force, we are going to take the appropriate action as a result of that."

17 jailers at the Raymond Detention Center were initially fired from their jobs.

The sheriff says only one has been reinstated.

Sheriff McMillin had previously fired 8 guards after a separate incident of alleged brutality at the jail.

Both cases of allegedly brutality have been turned over to the FBI for a possible criminal investigation.

A Corrections Officer at the Mass. Correctional Institute in Norfolk was arrested Monday for trying to smuggle heroin to the jail’s inmates.

Ronald McGinn Jr., 40, of Bridgewater, was caught setting up a deal that called for him to smuggle an ounce of heroin into the jail while collecting $2,500 as a fee for for the job.

The FBI caught wind of McGinn’s operation when a lieutenant from the Mass. Department of Corrections called in with a tip in January.

With the help of an informant inmate and an undercover agent acting as a heroin dealer, the FBI was able to catch McGinn in the act, successfully selling him an ounce of heroin and giving him $1000 as a down payment on the $2,500 fee.

According to an affidavit provided by an FBI special agent, McGinn had been involved with smuggling items such as cell phones, iPods, creatine, and narcotics to inmates for the last few years.

If McGinn is convicted of the charges, he could face up to 20 years imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release and a $1,00,000 fine, according a Department of Justice press release.

April 21, 2011
Geoff Liesik
deseretnews.com

DUCHESNE — The former commander of the Duchesne County Jail has been charged with damaging a patrol car following an apparent domestic dispute at his home Monday that ended with his arrest.

Todd Ronald Johnson, 44, made his first appearance Thursday in 8th District Court, where he is charged with damaging jails, a third-degree felony; and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.

Duchesne County sheriff's deputies were called to Johnson's home in Fruitland about 8:30 p.m. Monday on a report that he and his girlfriend were arguing, "throwing things and damaging the house," according to court records.

Deputies arrested Johnson for investigation of intoxication. As he was being transported to the jail, he began to kick the windshield of the patrol car, court records state.

"We had to stop him from kicking the windshield out," said Duchesne County Sheriff's Lt. Travis Tucker. "He was trying to do that. He just didn't quite make it."

Deputies did not deploy a Taser or use other force to stop Johnson from breaking the windshield, Tucker said. They simply moved the seat he was sitting in as far forward as possible so he couldn't raise his legs.

Although the windshield remained intact, Johnson did damage the dashboard airbag compartment on the passenger side of the patrol vehicle, court records state.

County employment records show that Johnson worked for the sheriff's office from November 1998 to February 2007. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in November 2004 and served as jail commander until shortly before he left the sheriff's office.

An attempt to contact Johnson for comment late Thursday was unsuccessful. He is due back in court June 2.

04/21/2011 
Berkeley Brean
WHEC.com

The Captain in the Monroe County Jail accused of having sex with an inmate will have her statements to investigators read out in court.

The hearing on her statements (known as a Huntley hearing) is June 1st.

McLaughlin is charged with 3rd degree rape, official misconduct and inappropriate use of a computer. She is accused of having sex with a former inmate in the Monroe County Jail. Because inmates cannot legally consent to have sex with anyone who works in a jail, the crime is rape.

Earlier, McLaughlin's attorney, public defender Erik Teifke, described the victim in this case, Joe Miller, as a "career criminal." He said McLaughlin would give Miller some special privileges, like making a phone call, to ease the tension in the "pressure cooker" inside the jail. Teifke said when McLaughlin stopped doing this for Miller, Miller got upset, went to the sheriff's office internal affairs and made the allegations.

McLaughlin is suspended without pay.

Prison Guard From San Jose Admits Smuggling Cell Phones To Inmates

April 22, 2011
sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com

SACRAMENTO (CBS / AP) — A former California correctional officer was sentenced to 45 days in jail Friday for smuggling cell phones to state prison inmates.

Terry Lane was fined $5,700, which the Sacramento County district attorney’s office said is the amount of bribes he accepted from inmates for bringing in the phones. He also was placed on three years’ probation.

"I'm sure there's going to be more to this story!  Stay tune".
                          Former Jail Sergeant Sandvig   

May 2, 2011
Pittsburg Tribune-Review

The state has replaced the superintendent, two deputy superintendents and the major of the guard at the state prison in Woods Run, where eight guards recently have been suspended.

"Beginning today, there is a new leadership team in place that will take SCI Pittsburgh in a new direction," acting Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said in a press release announcing the changes.

Susan McNaughton, spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections, said she couldn`t confirm whether the personnel changes were tied to an agency investigation that has resulted in the suspensions of eight corrections officers at the facility. She did confirm that former Superintendent Melvin Lockett and the other people replaced are no longer employees of the agency.

"That`s all I can tell you," she said.

Lockett declined comment.

Union officials said previously that the agency has not told them why one guard was suspended in January and another seven were suspended about a month ago. A union official couldn`t immediately be reached for comment.

Wetzel said Louis Folino, superintendent of SCI-Greene, a maximum security prison, is the new superintendent at SCI-Pittsburgh.

"Lou is a dedicated professional with a proven record of achievement in assuming increasing levels of responsibility," Wetzel said. "He recently was named warden of the year by the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents."

James Eckard, the deputy superintendent for facility management at SCI-Huntingdon, and Jay Whitesel, deputy superintendent for centralized services at SCI-Smithfield, will handle those same duties at SCI-Pittsburgh, Wetzel said.

Robert Gilmore, the major of the guard at SCI-Albion, is the new major of the guard for SCI-Pittsburgh, he said.

SCI-Pittsburgh houses 1,655 minimum to lower-medium security male inmates undergoing substance abuse treatment.

More to the story......

Sources: SCI Pittsburgh Guards Could Possibly Face Charges

May 4, 2011
pittsburgh.cbslocal.com

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The Allegheny County District Attorney is reacting to accusations against guards at SCI Pittsburgh on the North Side.

Their alleged actions were shrouded in secrecy for weeks before KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin broke new details on the case.