Beaver, West Virginia – In a shocking turn of events, a former West Virginia supervisory correctional officer was found guilty of conspiracy, witness tampering, and giving false statements to the FBI.
Chad Lester, a former lieutenant at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, was convicted of his crimes yesterday following a four-day jury trial. The charges against Lester arose out of a staff assault of an inmate named Quantez Burks, who later died from injuries he suffered during the assault.
Seven correctional officers pleaded guilty in connection with the assault of Burks, and several of those former officers testified against Lester during the trial. The evidence presented at trial showed that Lester conspired with other officers at the Southern Regional Jail to tamper with witnesses to cover up the assault of Burks.
The evidence also revealed that Lester directed a subordinate correctional officer to leave truthful information out of his report related to the circumstances of Burks’ death. Additionally, Lester directed another officer to include in his report false information about Burks. Furthermore, Lester told a third officer that he would beat him if he discovered that the officer was providing information about the assault to investigators.
Lester also provided false information relating to the assault of Burks to the FBI during an interview. The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, Charleston Resident Agency, investigated the case.
Lester is scheduled for sentencing on April 16 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith prosecuted the case in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Public Corruption|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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