By Ashley Perham, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal grand jury in Charleston has charged five former correctional officers in connection with a 2022 fatal assault on inmate Quantez Burks, 37, at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver less than a day after his arrival. A sixth was charged in connection with an alleged coverup.
Earlier this month, two jail officers, Andrew Fleshman and Steven Wimmer, pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge for their role in the assault.
The new indictment alleges that, on March 1, 2022, Mark Holdren, 39, Cory Snyder, 29, and Johnathan Walters, 35, used “unlawful force” against a handcuffed Burks as retaliation for an earlier attempt to leave his pod.
According to the indictment, Jacob Boothe, 25, and Ashley Toney, 23, were present during the assault and failed to intervene.
Burks arrested
Burks was a pretrial detainee at the facility. He was arrested in February 2022 on wanton endangerment and obstruction charges. His family called to post bail and were told he was too intoxicated to appear in court and had been taken directly to Southern Regional Jail, Burks’ mother, Kimberly, said.
Quantez Burks’ fiancée talked to him at about 9 a.m. the next day. When the family called magistrate court later that afternoon, they learned that he had died.
