Chad Lester, Conspiracy and Obstruction, West Virginia 2025

West Virginia correctional officer Chad Lester has been sentenced to 210 months in prison for his role in covering up an assault by correctional officers that resulted in the death of inmate Quantez Burks on March 1, 2022. Lester, 35, of Odd, WV, was convicted of three felony obstruction of justice charges: conspiracy to tamper with witnesses, witness tampering, and giving false statements.

The evidence presented in court showed that Lester 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. He also provided false information relating to the assault of Burks during a voluntary interview with FBI agents.

Seven correctional officers pleaded guilty in connection with the assault of Burks: Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, Johnathan Walters, Ashley Toney, Jacob Boothe, Steven Nicholas Wimmer, and Andrew Fleshman. Several of those former officers testified against Lester during the trial.

Lester’s sentencing comes as several of the correctional officers involved in the assault are set to face their own sentencing hearings. Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters are scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, 2025. Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe are set to be sentenced on June 9, 2025. Andrew Fleshman is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14, 2025.

Steven Nicholas Wimmer, another correctional officer involved in the assault, was previously sentenced to serve 108 months in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, Charleston Resident Agency, and prosecuted by Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division praised the work of the Criminal Section and their counterparts in the Southern District of West Virginia, saying, “This defendant wrongfully decided to obstruct an investigation into a fatal assault of an inmate.”

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia said, “On the defendant’s watch, correctional officers killed an inmate, and the defendant conspired with them to cover up their crimes. The defendant violated the public’s trust in the law enforcement system he had sworn to uphold.”

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