Tag: Division of Corrections

Two Former Corrections Officers Plead Guilty In Inmate Death

On Thursday, Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman each pleaded guilty to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against an inmate identified as “Q.B.” in court documents.

Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman each pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against an inmate identified as “Q.B.” in court documents.

Wimmer and Fleshman are former corrections officers from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia. On March 1, 2022, the officers admitted assaulted Q.B. resulting in his death.

According to their plea agreements, Wimmer and Fleshman each acknowledged that they separately responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod and that, when each arrived at the pod, Q.B. was on the floor as force was being used against him.

The officers then restrained and handcuffed Q.B. 

Wimmer, Fleshman and other members of the conspiracy then escorted Q.B. to an interview room where members of the conspiracy aided and abetted each other, struck and injured Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat.

Wimmer and Fleshman each admitted that the members of the conspiracy struck and injured Q.B. in order to punish him for attempting to leave his assigned pod.

In his plea agreement, Fleshman admits that he was one of the members who injured Q.B. while he was restrained and posed no threat. He further admitted that he and others moved Q.B. from the interview room into a cell, where members of the conspiracy continued to strike and injure Q.B. while he was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone.

Wimmer also admitted to striking and injuring Q.B. after he was brought to the cell in his plea agreement.

Wimmer and Fleshman each pleaded guilty on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023 before U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Volk. They each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Sentencing hearings are scheduled for Feb. 22, 2024.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney William S. Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office is investigating the case.

Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Matthew Tannenbaum of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Deputy Criminal Chief Monica Coleman for the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.

2 more W.Va. Agencies Cut State Vehicles

Two more state agencies in West Virginia say they are reducing their fleets of vehicles to save money.

The Division of Highways says it will auction off 122 vehicles in May and October and optimize use of those remaining.

The Division of Corrections says it’s cutting 45 vehicles, which will save taxpayers about $60,000 a year, while replacing older ones after five years or 120,000 miles driven instead of four years and 100,000 miles.

The prison agency says it’s also reducing the number assigned to individuals

The commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner for operations and the directors of safety and investigations will no longer have their own state vehicles.

The governor’s office and Department of Environmental Protection previously announced cuts.

Charleston Correctional Center Increases Access to Community Based Treatment

Offenders looking for treatment and rehabilitation within their communities now have a new home in a Charleston facility that celebrated its opening today. 

Dozens of Division of Corrections employees joined with state and local officials to celebrate the opening of the Charleston Correctional Center on the city’s East End Thursday.

The 40,000 square-foot facility has 96 beds for both male and female work-release participants and an additional 32 bed female Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Unit.

The facility is part of Governor Tomblin’s larger plan to reduce incarceration rates in West Virginia by focusing on community based treatment options for non-violent offenders. That plan started with the governors’ Justice Reinvestment Act passed by lawmakers during the 2013 legislative session.

“The problems of substance abuse, the problems with criminal justice, they’re not going to be solved in this next year. They’re not going to be solved in Gov. Tomblin’s term. They’re not going to be solved most likely for a long time,” Joseph Garcia, Tomblin’s legislative affairs director said during the dedication ceremony, “but what we can do and what Gov. Tomblin has strived to do is build a foundation to face these problems.”

The Charleston Correctional Center will replace an aging Charleston Work-Release Center that currently houses 60 offenders.

The new building will also hold the offices of the West Virginia Parole Board. 

Study: W.Va. Correctional Officer Pay Low, Turnover High

  A new report says correctional officers employed by the Division of Corrections have the lowest entry-level salaries in the nation.

The report released Monday by the Legislative Auditor’s Office says the entry-level salary for correctional officers is $22,141 annually. Illinois has the highest entry-level salary, $45,103.

Correctional officers earn about $16,400 less than their counterparts at the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The report also says the turnover rate among correctional officers was 37 percent in fiscal 2014. But low pay likely wasn’t the only factor.

The report says other possible turnover factors include a stressful working environment and long shifts.

According to the report, correctional officers earning the entry-level salary would qualify for government assistance if they live in a single-income household with three or more people.

State Fire Marshal to Step Down for Post at DOC

West Virginia’s Fire Marshal announced Monday he’s stepping down from his post after more than 22 years in the Fire Marshal’s office.

State Fire Marshal Anthony Carrico will be leaving his current job to take over as a corrections program manager in the state Division of Corrections.

Carrico took over as acting Marshal in April of 2013 and became the office’s permanent head in September of this year. He said in a release he’d put his heart and sole into the agency, but was presented with a great opportunity at the DOC.

The State Fire Commission has schedule a special meeting for December 22 to discuss filling the vacancy.

State Tells McDowell County to Address Jail Issues

The Division of Corrections has told the McDowell County Commission to address deficiencies at the Stevens Correctional Center or risk losing its contract to house state inmates at the facility.

The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports that Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein sent a letter to the commission regarding the deficiencies earlier this month. The issues include staff members not following Division of Corrections directives.

Rubenstein’s letter says the county owes the division liquidated damages under the contract.

The letter also says the division would cancel the contract if the problems aren’t resolved. But the agency is willing to waive damages and assist in transferring the facility’s ownership and operations to the state.

Commission President Gordon Lambert didn’t immediately return a telephone message from The Associated Press on Monday.

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