Video from the area showed Officer Wesley Thompson retrieve two packages from under the podium, place envelopes on top of them and deliver them to an inmates cell. [19], The Tabor City Prison officially opened on August 18, 2008,[13] with George Kemworthy serving as administrator of the prison. Anthony Nicholas Orban, 30, a five-year officer assigned to investigations with the Westminster Police Department, has been relieved from duty pending an investigation, a department spokesman said Monday morning. Download the WWAY News and StormTrack 3 Weather Apps on your smart phone or tablet device to receive breaking news and weather push notifications the minute it happens. United States; Search; 2022; 2022 Honor Roll of Heroes. He was arrested and charged with trafficking synthetic cannabinoids into the prison. Only one faces criminal charges at this time, though the State Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe in the matter. [36], In late October 2014, according reports from the Raleigh News and Observer in which the maintenance department of the prison head met with Governor Pat McCrory to extend the maintenance contracts beyond their expiration dates. Inmate Donny Mosley, who is serving time for second-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon, had slashed her face and neck with a razor-like weapon. David Guice, the states chief deputy secretary for adult correction and juvenile justice, said he does not yet know whether better staffing at Bertie would have made any difference the day that Callahan was killed. Copyright 2021 WECT. The original maximum number of inmates housed at the prison was 1,500. She will be spending the holidays grieving for her only son, but she can take some comfort in one decision Goodson made to change the lives of others as an organ donor. [55], In June 2017, an inmate assigned to a work detail at a second prison escaped. "His death is tragic, and we continue to work hard to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 in our prisons," said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. There are no national standards for minimum staffing at prisons, experts say. This is the largest weapon seizure Ive ever seen in this county, said Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins. Over the past four years, the Division of Prisons has: We educate, train and do everything possible to keep contraband out. He was arrested and charged with trafficking synthetic cannabinoids into the prison. submission: { Attorneys for Orban and Jelinek could not immediately be reached for comment. They stopped in Fontana, near Base Line Road and the 15 Freeway, in a commercial complex. She earned an extra $36,500 in overtime that year, records show. Pros Great job security, benefits, salary, etc. Cameron Keyon Green, 20, of Woodrow Street in Tabor City was shot and killed during an April 21 burglary in the 1000 block of Miller Road, Columbus County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Michelle Tatum said Friday. The pay is low an average of the about $35,000 annually at maximum-security prisons and the work is dangerous and demanding. State prison officials refused to say how many staff were on duty the day Callahan died. Despite the objections of the NCDPS head Frank Perry, the contracts were renewed. Personnel records for the sergeant obtained by WECT indicate he started working at Tabor Correctional in December 2018 and had been with DPS since May 2014. Officers said excessive overtime work can leave them burned out and exhausted. [43] It revealed that guards at the prison had been fired for unnecessary uses of force against an inmate, an officer having an inappropriate relationship with an inmate, for unsatisfactory job performance and sleeping while on duty, falsification of doctors' notes and being arrested and charged with first degree burglary. (The sergeant) also asked another staff member to bring him his belongings from his office, officers wrote in the report. Shown are guns seized by Robeson County Sheriffs Office investigators Thursday during the search of a home on N.C. 72 East near Lumberton. By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com A correctional officer at Tabor Correctional Institution is under investigation following the overdose death of an inmate there, the Tabor City Police Department reports. } Its as simple as that.. He is being held on suspicion of carjacking and as an accessory to the crime, and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.. But prison officials did release the monthly figures, which show that the prison had 211 officers available to work in April. Bertie now houses about 935 inmates. Published: Nov. 23, 2021 at 8:20 PM PST TABOR CITY, N.C. (WECT) - Three correctional officers are off the job amid allegations of drug smuggling and after an inmate died from an apparent overdose. Said Gary Harkins, former research and information director for ACOIN: People can get killed when you dont have enough staff. Brian Dawe, executive director of the American Correctional Officer Intelligence Network (ACOIN), said Bertie like most of the nations prisons appeared to be badly understaffed, based on the numbers that state prison officials provided to the Observer. Figures show that in April, when Sgt. . Prison leaders plan to examine many factors, including staffing patterns, Guice said. Theres just a few bad apples out there, he said. At Bertie, Callahan was responding to a fire set inside a trash can on the evening of April 26 when an inmate beat her to death with the fire extinguisher shed brought to douse the flames, state officials say. The other officer on shift with Thompson had been at Tabor Correctional since June 2019. Guns will be held for evidence until the trial, said sheriffs Maj. Damien McLean. Three correctional officers named in two separate incident reports filed by the Tabor City Police Department have resigned in the past week. Many of the large maximum-security prisons such as Bertie and Lanesboro are located in rural areas, where recruiting can be difficult. Thompson asked to speak to his attorney when interviewed. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Stephen Jacobs as the new warden of Tabor Correctional Institution in Tabor City. ", In September 2014, local news channel WECT discovered that this administrator of the prison had approved using state employees and state vehicles to have fast food delivered to the prison inmates on several occasion. Copyright 2021 WECT. Its a black eye to the law enforcement profession, Wilkins said. Drugs are thrown over the fences (often stuffed into footballs or basketballs), hidden in the mail, brought in by staff or smuggled in during visitation. The inmate also provided a written statement that he received drugs from the sergeant, according to the report. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named two new prison administrators. Contact the writer: 714-704-3764 or ghardesty@ocregister.com, Westminster detective arrested in brutal rape, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Three women arrested for alleged fraudulent federal student loans from Fullerton college, Tom Sizemore, Saving Private Ryan actor, dies at 61, 7 house fires prompt fears about gas meters buried in snow. A short time later, Orban and Jelinek were positively identified as the suspects responsible for the carjacking, kidnap and rape, Ontario police said in a statement. [35] According to the same news report, the department of public safety conducted an investigation, "but the results aren't public record. Drills included escaped inmates and staff being taken hostage. NC prison officer planned to behead 2 people. Bullard said that they thought that (the sergeant) had brought the drugs into the prison for (the other inmate), the report states. She then called Ontario police. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice has named Jamie Bullard as the new warden of Tabor Correctional Institution in Tabor City. Thompson asked to speak to his attorney when interviewed. The cost to build the prison was approximately $94million,[9] although the use of inmate labor greatly reduced what this amount would have been if private contractors had been used. Three correctional officers named in two separate incident reports filed by the Tabor City Police Department have resigned in the past week. During the course of the investigation and search a quantity of cocaine, fentanyl, suboxone strips, methadone, prescription pills, drug paraphernalia, U.S. Currency and 99 firearms were located and seized, according to the Sheriffs Office. All rights reserved. "The health and safety of the staff and the offender population is our top priority." An officer at Tabor Correctional Institution planned to rob an armored car. Thompson has not been linked to the death of Goodson at this time. and I think Ill get the names of the people who actually got his organs and maybe one day I can meet them, Pressley said. Copyright 2021 WECT. Im sure Im not the only one thats going through this. [37], WECT reported that in late November 2014 a prison guard was arrested by the FBI for conspiring to rob an armored vehicle. COLUMBUS COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - The state Department of Public Safety has launched an internal investigation after a Tabor Correctional inmate died of a suspected overdose amid allegations of correctional officers smuggling drugs into the prison. Jelinek is a four-year officer with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. evvnt_require("evvnt/discovery_plugin").init({ A Tabor Correctional Institution supervisor reported the inmate overdose to Tabor City police on Nov. 16, who began an investigation into the matter. Bertie isnt the only state prison with staffing problems. Bullard also said the sergeant left work early that day after he was questioned and had not returned to work since. One of those officers fell and hurt her knee when she went to Callahans defense, Jernigan said. Weve got to find a way to retain the people who work for us, Guice said. [38] The officer was also planning to break into several houses to obtain weapons for the planned robbery. November 24, 2021 WWAY News , A correctional officer at Tabor Correctional Institution is under investigation following the overdose death of an inmate there, the Tabor City Police Department reports. discovery: { They are asking that anyone who has information to contact the Ontario Police Department at (909) 395-2908. Year. [59], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}341115N 785447W / 34.187404N 78.913036W / 34.187404; -78.913036. Pressley rushed to be by her sons side at the hospital where she heard his last heartbeat. When Orban returned to the mall, he called his wife to tell her he was missing his gun. More than 121 grams of synthetic marijuana was discovered during a search of the cell. [57], In October 2019, a Corrections officer was accused of hitting two students with a car,[58] while another was accused of breaking into a house. The prisons first responders performed lifesaving measures until local paramedics arrived who also worked to resuscitate the offender and pronounced Moore deceased at 4:56 a.m., a news release states. Three correctional officers named in two separate incident reports filed by the Tabor City Police Department have resigned in the past week. A criminal investigation is underway after an inmate was attacked early Wednesday morning at Tabor Correctional Institution. (The officer) said that on that Tuesday night Thompson told her that he had a large amount and needed to get rid of it as soon as possible.. "After the decision was made to locate the prisons in Tabor City, the town had to fight the battle of paying for the land (and giving the land to the state) and we (Tabor City) had to fight the battle of raising the millions of dollars in grants that it took to service the prisons with water and sewer" [4], The design of Tabor Correctional is the same as six other North Carolina prisons. Moore was serving a nine-month sentence for parole violation at the time of his death. Three correctional officers resign amid drug smuggling allegations and suspected inmate overdose death, 3 hurt in crash involving motorcycle near Surfside Beach, Darlington fire captain recovering after cutting torch explosion, Panthers founder, former owner Jerry Richardson dies at 86, Runners arrive, prepare for Myrtle Beach Marathon, Police: 1 shot, body found in Forestbrook area, Everybody is cheering him on: Duo ready to rock and roll through Myrtle Beach Marathon, wmbf-publicfile@gray.tv - (843) 839-9623. That investigation includes support from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), Maj. Russell Conway of the TCPD said Monday. Dawe, whose group shares research to help correctional officers, said that prison leaders who operate without sufficient staff roll the dice with peoples lives.. The FBI foiled the 2014 plot . Fontana officers responded and determined that the investigation should be handled by Ontario police since the incident started there. [48] Because of these charges, the sergeant resigned her position. [29] During this administrator's time, the small annex housing up to 252 minimum security inmates was opened. However, a December 2020 report showed that state . Two other correctional officers at the Institution have resigned, but they do not face any charges at this time. The Department of Public Safety has zero tolerance for any staff involved in any illegal activity and is cooperating fully in this investigation.