Friedmann Cca Employees Charged With or Convicted of Crimes 2004-2009
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CCA Employees Charged with or Convicted of Crimes, 2004-2009 Compiled by Alex Friedmann for the Private Corrections Institute www.privateci.org The following is a list of CCA employees who have been charged with or convicted of criminal offenses from August 2004 to August 2009. This list is far from complete, as it is based primarily on news articles plus incident reports from three CCA facilities in Tennessee obtained from the Tennessee Department of Correction pursuant to public records requests. Many jurisdictions that contract with CCA do not track arrests of CCA staff or are not informed of such arrests. Not included in this list are known arrests of CCA staff where the names of the employees were not reported, and arrests of CCA staff for minor offenses (e.g. non-DUI driving offenses, disorderly conduct). ____________________ Charles M. Dunn, 27, a former guard at the CCA-run Hernando County Jail in Florida, pleaded guilty to drug-related charges and was sentenced to 13 months in prison on July 24, 2009. Dunn had offered to deliver drugs to prisoners in exchange for bribes during a sting operation involving undercover officers. Tampabay.com, July 24, 2009. CCA guard Hether Nicole Bargsley, 32, employed at the CCA-run Bradshaw State Jail in Texas, was arrested in June 2009 for allegedly engaging in sex acts with a male prisoner and giving him money. She was arraigned on charges of violations of civil rights of a person in custody by sexual contact and prohibitive substance in a correctional facility. Tyler Morning Telegraph, June 16, 2009. On April 24, 2009, it was reported that CCA employee Kenon Dontae was charged with having sexual contact with a female prisoner at the Silverdale jail in Chattanooga, Tennessee. According to the indictment, Dontae “did unlawfully engage in sexual contact or sexual penetration” with the prisoner. Chattanoogan.com, April 24, 2009. CCA guard Sonja Ann Powell, employed at the Bay Correctional Facility in Florida, was arrested in April 2009 on charges of smuggling contraband to a prisoner. She allegedly smuggled a cell phone to two gang members at the facility; investigators believe that she had a relationship with one of the prisoners. News Herald, April 2, 2009. In 2008, CCA employee Randy Hagan, the chaplain at CCA’s Otter Creek facility in Kentucky, was charged with having sexual contact with a female prisoner between Feb. 14 and Aug. 4, 2008. He has pleaded not guilty and is pending trial. Courier-Journal, Aug. 2, 2009. According to a July 24, 2009 news report, Hawaii prison officials stated that 23 female prisoners at Otter Creek have alleged they were sexually assaulted by CCA employees. WZTV, July 24, 2009. On November 17, 2008, a grand jury in Swift County, Minnesota indicted Andrew Gordon Lemcke, 34, on murder charges for killing his wife on Sept. 12, 2004. Lemcke was arrested in Florence, Arizona, where he was employed at a CCA prison. West Central Tribune, November 19, 2008. Angel Harris, 27, employed at CCA’s Silverdale Detention Center in Chattanooga, TN, was fired in June 2008. Five months later, in November 2008, she was charged with a felony count of having sex with a prisoner at the facility. Tradingmarkets.com, Nov. 19, 2008, citing Chattanooga Times/Free Press. On November 8, 2008, a CCA guard at the company’s Gadsden Correctional Facility in Florida, Geno Lewis Hawkins, 43, was arrested on charges of sexual battery stemming from accusations that he had a sexual relationship with a prisoner. Tallahassee.com, November 9, 2008. Juan Nunez, 39, employed by CCA at the Central Arizona Detention Center in Florence, was arrested on Nov. 7, 2008 and charged with attempted provision of a prohibited object to an inmate and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Nunez reportedly accepted cocaine and cash from an FBI agent to deliver to a prisoner. U.S. Attorney General press release (District of Arizona), Nov. 7, 2008; Zwire.com. In 2008, former CCA guard Kevin Younce was charged with 2nd degree misdemeanor sexual abuse involving a prisoner at the Otter Creek facility in Kentucky. He fled, was tried in absentia on October 7, 2008, and sentenced to a year in jail and a $500 fine. A warrant for his arrest is outstanding. According to a related federal lawsuit, Younce woke the prisoner on July 3, 2008, took her into a staff bathroom and raped her. CCA has moved to dismiss the suit, stating the prisoner did not file a grievance regarding the rape. Courier-Journal, Aug. 2, 2009; Lexington Herald-Leader, July 31, 2009. Robert C. Heller, 27, a CCA employee at the Bay County Jail in Florida, was arrested on June 19, 2008 and charged with three counts of sexual battery. News Herald, June 19, 2008. Misty Bundy, a guard at the CCA-operated South Central Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was charged with introduction of contraband into a penal facility on April 28, 2008. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. On April 25, 2008, CCA guard Candace Parish at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee was charged with introduction of contraband into a penal facility. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Shaun McFadden, a TransCor employee, was charged with having sex with two female prisoners. He allegedly took them to a motel for sex after checking them out of a Florida jail. TransCor is a subsidiary of CCA. Florida Times Union, February 3, 2008. Michickia Douglas, a CCA guard at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was arrested by the Bolivar Police Dept. for simple possession of marijuana on Dec. 15, 2007. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. 2 CCA guard Martavius Moore at the Hardeman Co. Correctional Facility in Tennessee was arrested on October 2, 2007 on charges of introduction of contraband into a penal facility and possession of schedule VI drugs with intent to deliver. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Anthony Shay Townes, a CCA guard at the Camino Nuevo women’s prison in New Mexico, was arrested on Oct. 9, 2007 on charges of raping four female prisoners, who said they were taken to an area of the prison out of the view of cameras. One of the inmates reported being removed from 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. Associated Press, Oct. 11, 2007; Albuquerque Tribune, Oct. 10, 2007. Chris Pursell, a CCA guard at the Hernando County Jail in Florida, was sentenced to one year on probation in Sept. 2007 after he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor battery charges. He was also ordered to write a letter of apology and surrender his correctional officer license. St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 19, 2007. Glen Turner, Warden of CCA’s Hardeman County, Tennessee facility, pleaded guilty to a charge of official oppression on Sept. 18, 2007 and received one year on judicial diversion. The charge involved a May 16, 2007 incident in which he assaulted a prisoner, James Ingram, by punching him in the head when Ingram was restrained. Turner is the brother of CCA vice president Jimmy Turner. Sources: TDOC Internal Affairs memos and a deposition in a federal civil suit filed against Turner. A CCA guard at the Huerfano County Correctional Center in Colorado was arrested in Sept. 2007 on suspicion of Internet sexual exploitation of a child, Internet luring of a child and attempted sexual exploitation of a child. Brad Sanchez, 31, was accused of contacting undercover Jefferson County district attorney’s investigators in an Internet chatroom and, thinking he was talking to a 14-year-old girl, soliciting sexually explicit photographs. He was arrested after he agreed to meet authorities in Jefferson County, and freed on $10,000 bond. Sanchez was a sergeant at the CCA-operated prison. Rocky Mountain News, September 25, 2007. In September 2007, Nick Ferrio, a CCA guard at the Hernando County Jail in Florida, was sentenced to 10 days in jail, one year on probation and 100 hours of community service for assaulting prisoners. He had been arrested in Oct. 2006. St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 19, 2007. Roberta Allen, a vocational instructor at the CCA-run Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was arrested on Sept. 14, 2007 on charges of possession of schedule VI drugs with intent to deliver. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. CCA maintenance worker George Hale pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual abuse in 2007 and was sentenced to 60 days home detention and two years on probation. Hale reportedly had sex with a female prisoner a dozen times at CCA’s Otter Creek facility in Kentucky in exchange for providing her with tobacco, which was considered contraband at the prison. Courier-Journal, August 2, 2009. 3 On July 31, 2007, CCA guard Dennis Crowder was charged with felony credit card fraud; he was employed at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Webb County Sheriffs deputies arrested two suspects for possession of more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of more than $500,000. Deputies also confiscated several AR-15 assault rifles. A sheriffs official said 1,119 pounds of marijuana wrapped in clear cellophane were found in the garage and bathroom of a house. A spokeswoman for the Sheriffs Department said Eduardo Guadalupe Martinez, 29, and Gloria Guevara, 27, were arrested. Martinez is employed by CCA at the Webb County, Texas detention center. Laredo Morning Times, July 22, 2007. CCA sergeant Marcus Boyd at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee was arrested on July 10, 2007 on a charge of assault on a minor. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Whiteville Correctional Facility CCA guard Mary Carter was arrested by the Whiteville, Tennessee Police Dept. on July 1, 2007 for introduction of contraband. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Keith Huggins, CCA’s internal affairs officer at the Hardeman Co. Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was arrested by the Jackson Police Dept. on June 27, 2007 and charged with aggravated assault. He entered a best interest plea and received one year on probation. The charge stemmed from an assault on a customer at a bar where Huggins worked as a bouncer on his off-hours. Following his conviction, Huggins continued to work for CCA at the company’s Mason, TN facility. Sources: www.wbbj.com; phone calls to Huggins and CCA Mason facility. CCA guard Loloya Jackson, at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was arrested by the Bolivar Police Dept. and charged with aggravated assault on June 11, 2007. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Justin Michael Borden, 28, was arrested for possession of 1.8 grams of marijuana and promoting prison contraband; he was employed at CCA’s Red Rock Facility in Arizona. There was also an outstanding warrant for Borden out of Tucson for failure to appear for arraignment. Eloy Enterprise, April 5, 2007. On March 22, 2007, CCA guard Norritis Avent was arrested on a charge of introduction of contraband a penal facility after he reportedly admitted to bringing 6.5 ounces of marijuana into the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee to give to an inmate. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. On February 16, 2007, CCA guard Annette Moore was arrested on a charge of simple possession of marijuana after several half-smoked marijuana joints were found in her car and an unsmoked joint and rolling papers were found in her purse. She had consented to a search of her vehicle after a K9 drug detection dog alerted to her. She was employed at the South Central Correctional Facility in Tennessee. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. 4 On February 6, 2007, CCA guard Terri Rivers at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee was charged with possession with intent to deliver and introduction of contraband into a penal facility. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. On February 4, 2007, CCA guard Glenda Franks, employed at the South Central Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was arrested after she admitted to having sex with an inmate, a Class E felony. She was booked into the Wayne County jail. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Robert Earl Hannon, a CCA jailer at the Leflore County Jail in Mississippi, was arrested in Feb. 2007 after he was found introducing contraband (money and marijuana) into the facility. He hid the contraband in mashed potatoes that were delivered to him at the jail. WMC TV5, Feb. 22, 2007; UPI, Feb. 23, 2007. On January 10, 2007, CCA guard Tanesha Smith was charged with possession of schedule VI drugs and introduction of contraband into a penal facility after she was found with 1.2 ounces of marijuana. She was employed at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Mike Lewis, a CCA guard at the New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility, was charged with sexual contact with female prisoners in 2007. Source: letter from NM DOC official Tia Bland dated April 2008, pursuant to a public records request. In 2007, CCA guard Darren Green, 41, employed at the company’s Otter Creek facility in Kentucky, was charged with a misdemeanor count of sexual abuse involving a female prisoner. He was ordered to serve 120 days of home detention. Courier-Journal, Aug. 2, 2009. Marion County, Indiana CCA jail guard Tacaria M. Eskew was charged with smuggling cigarettes and marijuana in Dec. 2006, on Christmas Eve. She allegedly smuggled the contraband into the facility in Chinese food. Indianapolis Star, December 27, 2006. CCA guard Lakesha Glynn, employed at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was arrested on December 20, 2006 on charges of attempting to smuggle two cell phones and drugs into the prison. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. On November 12, 2006, Whiteville Correctional Facility guard Christopher Jones was arrested by the Somerville, Tennessee police dept. on a charge of simple possession of drug paraphernalia. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. A former supervisor at a CCA-run prison in eastern Kentucky was arrested and charged with smuggling marijuana to inmates. Rodney Trowbridge, 47, was charged with four counts of first-degree promoting contraband at the Lee Adjustment Center. Associated Press, November 1, 2006. 5 On Sept. 18, 2006, CCA guard Sean Blackmon, employed at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was charged with felony evading arrest, simple possession, resisting arrest and having a revoked driver’s license. In connection with the same incident, CCA guard Ashlon Woods was charged with accessory to felony evading arrest, simple possession, resisting arrest and revoked driver’s license. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. In August 2006, CCA guard Enrique Garcia, employed at the New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility, was indicted by the Thirteenth Judicial District Court Grand Jury on two counts of criminal sexual penetration in the second degree. Garcia allegedly had sex with a female prisoner at the facility. Cibola Beacon, August 21, 2006. On July 31, 2006, Whiteville Correctional Facility CCA guard Vennita Glenn was charged with introduction of contraband into a penal facility and accessory to aggravated assault. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Jamie Booth, a guard at the CCA-operated Whiteville Correctional Facility, was charged with introduction of contraband into a penal facility on July 19, 2006. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. On May 25, 2006, CCA guard Crystal Dancy was arrested at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee and charged with delivery of schedule VI drugs with intent, delivery of schedule III drugs with intent, and introduction of contraband into a penal institution. She was found with 9.2 ounces of marijuana as well as hydrocodone pills; her bond was set at $70,000. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Hardeman County, Tennessee CCA guard Jacqueline Watson was arrested by the Bolivar Police Dept. on May 10, 2006 on charges of filing a false report concerning a sexual assault at a local Wal-Mart. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. In April 2006, a CCA guard at the Hernando County Jail in Florida was arrested for assisting with an escape attempt. Verda May Terry was charged after she allegedly agreed to help prisoner Tommy Lee escape by smuggling hacksaw blades and other tools into the facility in a submarine sandwich. St. Petersburg Times, May 4, 2006. Niki L. Ventris, a CCA guard at the Cimarron Correctional Facility in Oklahoma, was arrested in April 2006 on a felony charge of possession of marijuana. Cushing Daily Citizen, April 25, 2006. In April 2006, CCA guard Elden Tackett was charged with sexual abuse; he was subsequently sentenced to 12 months on probation. Tackett, 43, was employed at the Otter Creek facility in Kentucky; he reportedly confessed to receiving oral sex from a female prisoner in exchange for giving her food and candy. Courier-Journal, August 2, 2009; Lexington Herald-Leader, April 8, 2006. 6 A drug counselor at the CCA-operated Otter Creek Correctional Center in Kentucky was arrested on charges of drug trafficking. Tanya J. Crum, 32, was accused of selling meth on March 29, 2006; she was also charged with complicity to commit trafficking with a co-defendant, Kimberly Goble. Floyd County Times, April 12, 2006. CCA South Central Correctional Facility (Tennessee) guard Floyd Lang was arrested on March 21, 2006 after a pat down search revealed a small quantity of cocaine and Dilaudid pills. Another Dilaudid pill was found in his vehicle. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Susan L. Kries, a CCA employee in Florida, was arrested along with five other people after a child was hospitalized for possibly drinking GHB, a powerful date-rape drug, that had been left in a soda can. Kries and the other defendants were charged with drug possession. The News Herald, March 18, 2006. CCA guard Jeffrey S. Hodges, employed at the company’s Hernando County, Florida jail, pleaded guilty in March 2006 to two counts of grand theft and was sentenced to a year and a half on probation plus restitution. He was a booking officer at the jail and stole money from two prisoners. St. Petersburg Times, March 9, 2006. Velma Lydia Garza, a guard at a CCA facility in Laredo, Texas, was accused of trafficking in fake drugs. She was also accused of trying to hire someone to kill her CCA supervisor. Garza was indicted on charges of unlawful delivery of a simulated controlled substance and first-degree felony criminal solicitation; she was arrested on the drug charge in March 2006 along with another CCA guard, Patricia Orozco. Orozco was indicted separately on a charge of delivering simulated cocaine. Prosecutor Edward Nolen said Orozco was not involved in Garza’s alleged murder-for-hire scheme. Laredo Morning Times, February 8, 2007; Associated Press, March 2, 2006. On January 24, 2006, Whiteville Correctional Facility guard Keosha Smith notified her CCA supervisor that she had been arrested and was being held on $30,000 bond for felony evading arrest and felony reckless endangerment. She was booked into the Hardeman County, Tennessee jail. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. On January 20, 2006, a CCA guard at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee, Antoine McKinnie, was arrested on charges of introducing drugs into a penal facility, and possession of schedule VI drugs and schedule II drugs. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. CCA guard Willie Valentine, employed at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was arrested on August 15, 2005 for being in possession of 13 ounces of marijuana. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Shanetra L. McCollom, a CCA guard at the Hernando County Jail in Florida, was arrested on charges of selling crack cocaine to undercover detectives. She faces two counts of sale or possession of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a church and one count of sale or possession of crack cocaine. Hernando Today, August 5, 2005. 7 On July 20, 2005, CCA-South Central Correctional Facility guard Jeff Staggs was arrested after a partial half gallon of whisky, one alleged marijuana cigarette, a glass pipe and a small amount of a green leafy substance were found in his car. He was placed under arrest and transported to the Wayne County, Tennessee jail. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Christopher Michael Byrd, 33, a CCA nurse at Florida’s Bay County Jail, was arrested on July 16, 2005 on a felony charge of having sex with a female prisoner. They reportedly had sex on an examining table in the jail’s medical unit. Byrd and a jail supervisor were both fired. Reported in the News Herald, July 18, 2005. On May 25, 2005, CCA guard Anthony Eubanks was arrested at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee for possession of marijuana following a search of his vehicle. $550 in cash was also found in his vehicle. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Charles Courtney Wilson, 19, a CCA guard at the Tulsa Jail in Oklahoma, was arrested in May 2005 for the armed robbery of a woman in a mall parking lot. He was fired after CCA learned of his felony arrest. He received a 10-year sentence in August 2006 after pleading guilty to robbery with a firearm and obstructing a police officer. Tulsa World, May 7, 2005. CCA guard Tonya Nelson, employed at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee, was arrested on April 23, 2005 and charged with having a sexual relationship with an inmate. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. On April 19, 2005, CCA guard / instructor’s aide Kingalla Bolden, employed at the South Central Correctional Facility, was arrested by the Wayne County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office on charges of resisting arrest and assault. After being accused of having a relationship with an inmate, Bolden refused to leave the facility after being fired. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. A CCA guard at the Hernando County Jail in Florida was arrested in Pasco County after she reportedly failed a field sobriety test. Shannon Marie Maines, 20, faces a charge of driving under the influence. Maines also refused to submit to a breathalyzer-alcohol test, authorities said. Hernando Today, April 15, 2005. CCA fired Bay County, Florida jail guard Grant Cox, 35, on April 8, 2005 after he got into a fight with prisoner Skylar Jones. Cox reportedly violated the company’s policy by hitting Jones during a “verbal altercation” in the jail’s elevator. According to Jones, Cox grabbed him by the throat, pushed him to the ground and put his knee into his chest, then rushed him after the elevator door opened and knocked him into a trash can. Cox was charged with misdemeanor assault. News-Herald, April 9, 2005. CCA Tulsa, Oklahoma jail supervisor Eugene Pendleton was convicted in March 2005 on charges of raping a female prisoner. Prior to being hired by CCA, Pendleton had served 17 years for murder. Tulsa World, March 30, 2005. 8 CCA guard Louis Gregory, 38, was employed at the Hernando County Jail in Florida. He was arrested on two counts of sexual battery involving Kim Hines, a 17-year-old female prisoner. On March 5, 2005, Gregory pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct; he had twice touched Hines inappropriately after she got out of a shower. Gregory, who had previously been named CCA’s workhouse employee of the month, was later sentenced to six months in jail. St. Petersburg Times, March 5, 2005. Jamie Bishop, a CCA guard at the Bay County Jail in Florida, was arrested on drugrelated charges in February 2005, including selling cocaine, possession of cocaine, possession of steroids, possession of Xanax, possession of drug paraphernalia and sale of a controlled substance. News Herald, February 5, 2005. A former CCA guard at the Marion Adjustment Center in Kentucky was arrested on charges that he sexually abused two inmates from Vermont. Joel Becks was charged with sexual abuse and official misconduct on January 26, 2005, according to the Nelson County Sheriff’s Department. Associated Press, February 8, 2005. CCA guard Maclin (no first name reported) was arrested on Jan. 22, 2005 for trying to introduce drugs/controlled substances into the Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. On December 14, 2004, CCA guard Felicia Noland was arrested by Whiteville police after a search of her car uncovered 3 ounces of marijuana and 1 ounce of cocaine. She was charged with possession of schedule II and schedule VI drugs with intent to sell. Noland was employed at CCA’s Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. A CCA guard identified as “T. Smith” was arrested on Dec. 5, 2004 after he admitted to introducing contraband into the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee. He was charged with introduction of schedule VI drugs into a penal institution, possession of schedule VI drugs with intent to deliver, and criminal conspiracy. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. A guard at the CCA-run Marion County Jail II in Indianapolis, Indiana was arrested on charges of trying to bring marijuana and tobacco into the facility. Durand Huggins, 27, was booked on a preliminary charge of trafficking with an inmate, a class C felony. The contraband was found in a bag that contained White Castle sandwiches. Indianapolis Star, November 23, 2004. On August 26, 2004, CCA guard Tammy Montalvo at CCA’s Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Tennessee was arrested for possession of a controlled substance after she was found bringing 4.7 ounces of marijuana into the facility. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. Police arrested CCA guard Lashunda Robinson on August 26, 2004 at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Tennessee on an outstanding warrant for writing bad checks. Source: Records produced by TN DOC pursuant to a public records request. 9