The Register-Herald
BECKLEY, W.Va. – A former lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in covering up the 2022 beating death of inmate Quantez Burks.
Chad Lester, 35, of Odd, and a former supervisor at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, was sentenced on Thursday to 17 years and six months in prison, to be followed by nine years of supervised release.
On Jan. 27, a federal jury convicted Lester on three felony obstruction of justice charges, including conspiracy to tamper with witnesses; witness tampering; and giving false statements.
“As part of these efforts to cover up the fatal assault other officers committed, the defendant threatened subordinate officers with violence and retaliation, added false statements to multiple officers’ reports, instructed officers to give a false cover story to investigators, and personally gave false statements to internal investigators,” a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia read. “The evidence showed that the defendant also provided false information relating to the assault of Burks during a voluntary interview with FBI agents.”
