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Prison News in Brief: Kansas through Texas

By Prison Legal News

Kansas Prison News

Former Sedgwick County Jail guard David Kendall, 23, was charged with crimes ranging from aggravated sodomy to misdemeanor sexual battery for raping two prisoners and sexually propositioning four others.  These prisoners have collectively filed claims totaling over $20 million against Sedgwick County.  Kendall posted $500,000 bond and was released from the Sedgwick County Jail with a GPS monitoring system.  At an August 30, 2013 hearing, testimony was presented that one of the prisoners accusing Kendall of rape had had consensual sex with him, then fabricated the rape claim to cash in on a civil suit.

Michigan Prison News

Former Michigan Department of Corrections employee Michael Paul Salyers pleaded no contest on August 2, 2013 to a lesser charge of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct; he was originally charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct of a state prisoner.  Police said that since 2006, Salyers had a sexual relationship with a female Michigan state prisoner who has since been released.  At the time, Salyers was a mechanic at the now-closed Camp Brighton facility.

Minnesota Prison News

A nurse working for a private medical contractor, Advanced Correctional Healthcare/Diamond Pharmacy Services, was charged with illegally obtaining prescriptions for oxycodone for personal use by using the names of prisoners in her care at the Isanti County Jail.  Cara Sue Lindgren was charged with felony fifth-degree drug possession by fraud or deceit on August 9, 2013.  An investigation into the wrongdoing at the Isanti County Jail remains ongoing.

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Prison News in Brief: Oklahoma through Tennessee

By Prison Legal News

This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from Oklahoma through Tennessee and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.

Oklahoma Prison News

Darren “Veneno” Padron, 22, is one of six prisoners accused of planning and carrying out the June 13, 2012 stabbing death of fellow prisoner Sonny J. Limpy, 25, at the GEO Group-operated Lawton Correctional Facility.  On July 18, 2013, Padron pleaded guilty to his role in the murder and was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison with five suspended.  Also charged were Alonzo “Coon” Florez, Gerardo “Guito” Sanduval, Jose Garcia, Ryan “Frankie” Garcia, and Armando Luna.  Testimony indicated that the killing was ordered after Limpy refused to join “The 13 Movement,” an initiative to unify all Hispanic gangs under one leadership.

Oklahoma Prison News

On July 10, 2013, a prisoner at the Tulsa County Jail was found unresponsive during security checks.  A nurse who rushed to treat him experienced a sudden cardiac medical emergency and had to be taken to a local hospital.  Despite resuscitation efforts by jail staff and the Tulsa Fire Department, prisoner Brian Keith Perry, 41, was pronounced dead.  Investigators from the Sheriff’s Department ruled out foul play and Perry’s death is believed to be a suicide.  The nurse was admitted to the hospital for treatment.

Pakistan Prison News

On July 29, 2013, militants attacked a prison in northwest Pakistan and reportedly freed more than 250 prisoners.  Pakistan Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the assault and said 150 militants took part.  Officials had received a letter threatening an attack on the facility, but did not expect one so soon.  The militants arrived by car and motorcycles, then began a 41/2 hour assault on the prison using bombs, grenades, and guns.  Some of the attackers, wearing police uniforms, used megaphones to call out the names of specific prisoners.  Six police officers, six prisoners, and two civilians were killed, including one prisoner who was beheaded.

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Prison News in Brief: New York through Oklahoma

By Prison Legal News

This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from New York through Oklahoma and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.

  • New York Prison News

The wife of a Rikers Island mental health worker was arrested on May 8, 2013 for making death threats to her husband’s alleged mistress, another Rikers Island employee.  Victoria Beltran, a transsexual actress, suspected an affair after finding unusual credit card charges made by her husband, Brett Bergmann.  Furious, Beltran began to pepper the suspected mistress, Katarzyna Sakowicz, with voicemails and text messages, which Sakowicz reported to authorities.  The two women also argued about whether Bergmann knew that Beltran was born a man.  Beltran, who was charged with aggravated harassment, said her husband was aware of her sex change operation from the beginning of their relationship.  Bergmann is reportedly filing for divorce.

  • New York Prison News

Former Erie County sheriff’s deputy Cutolo Buffalo, 54, was charged with pepper spraying a prisoner who was handcuffed and being escorted by two other deputies.  The August 2012 incident led to an FBI investigation and Cutolo’s termination from the sheriff’s department.  Cutolo pleaded guilty and was sentenced on August 2, 2013 to six months’ home confinement on electronic monitoring plus one year of probation.

  • New York Prison News

Nancy Gonzalez, 29, a former guard at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, was impregnated by a prisoner at the jail.  Gonzalez was arrested in March 2013 and pleaded guilty on July 3, 2013 to having sex with MDC prisoner Ronell Wilson, resulting in the birth of her son, Justus Liam Gonzalez.  Defense attorney Anthony Ricco compared the pair’s relationship to that of Romeo and Juliet — although unlike the Shakespearean play, Wilson was facing the death penalty for killing NYPD undercover officers Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin during a gun purchase sting in 2003.  Gonzalez refused to testify at Wilson’s death penalty hearing and he was sentenced to death on July 24, 2013.  She lost her parental rights to Justus on November 15, 2013 after drinking alcohol during meetings with Wilson’s relatives, which violated a condition of her bail.

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Prison News in Brief: Mississippi through New Hampshire

By Prison Legal News

This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from Mississippi through New Hampshire and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.

  • Mississippi Prison News

In three separate incidents that occurred between July 14 and 19, 2013, two guards and the 65-year-old mother of a prisoner were arrested as a result of DOC investigations.  Ciarra Harley, a 27-year-old guard at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility (CMCF), is accused of having a sexual relationship with a probationer.

Patricia Bennett-Armstrong, also employed at CMCF, was arrested for possession of prohibited items after a large amount of tobacco was found in her vehicle.

Further, Gloria Edwards, the mother of a prisoner serving time at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was arrested for allegedly planning to deliver contraband to a prisoner.  Edwards was at the facility to see her son but was arrested before the visit; she had several pills concealed on her body and more drugs were found in her vehicle.

  • Mississippi Prison News

On June 11, 2013, Harrison County jailers Frederick Corso and Joseph Tuten were fired for their roles in the mistreatment of a prisoner and an attempted cover-up of the abuse.  A review of surveillance video confirmed the mistreatment, which was witnessed by a third guard who alerted jail administrators.  Although the prisoner did not suffer any injuries, Corso and Tuten were terminated when one participated in the abuse and the other falsified incident reports.

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Prison News in Brief: Alabama through Florida

By Prison Legal News

This installment of Prison News in Brief concerns news from Alabama through Florida and is brought to us by our friends at Prison Legal News.

  • Alabama Prison News

On July 29, 2013 there was a break-in at the Draper Correctional Facility.  According to the Department of Corrections, three sections of the prison were burglarized in the early morning hours, and laptop computers and multiple weapons were discovered missing when employees started arriving around 5:00 AM.  The facility’s farm office, radio shop, and dog kennels, which are located apart from the prison population, were reportedly breached.

  • Arizona Prison News

Newly-hired Maricopa County jail guard Rachel Harris, 22, was attacked on June 24, 2013 by prisoner Bobby Ruiz as she entered his cell at the Lower Buckeye Jail, and during the assault Ruiz bit off part of one of her ears.  Two other prisoners rushed in to help Harris, pulling Ruiz off her and restraining him until other guards arrived.  Sheriff Joe Arpaio told reporters that the missing piece of Harris’ ear could not be found and that Ruiz had presumably swallowed it.

  • Arkansas Prison News

Steven Mitchell, 39, died in a crash on July 30, 2013 after leading police on a chase through the state of Missouri.  He had escaped from the Jacksonville County Detention Center in Arkansas two days earlier with another prisoner.  A Nissan Sentra driven by Mitchell’s wife, Jessica, with Mitchell as a passenger, was pulled over.  When the officer asked Jessica to step out of the car, Mitchell jumped into the driver’s seat and sped away.  Sheriff David Lucas told ABC News that “During the pursuit, Mitchell wrecked his vehicle and sustained fatal injuries.”

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