Supervisor Sentenced to 17 Years for Cover Up Following Death of Inmate in West Virginia

A former supervisor at a state prison in West Virginia, is sentenced to prison time himself, for his role in covering up the death of an inmate. 

Chad Lester was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison.

Lester is the first of eight former correctional officers to be sentenced in connection with the death of inmate Quantez Burks on March 1, 2022, at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia. 

Burks was arrested by police in Beckley on February 28, 2022 for allegedly firing a gun at a cat on his property. Unable to post bail, Burks was held at the Southern Regional Jail. The next day, court documents say Burks tried to push past a correctional officer. That’s when correctional officers forced Burks to the floor and used force, including multiple knee strikes that were “unreasonable.”

They then brought Burks into an area of the prison that was a known surveillance “blind spot” where the officers hit him in the head multiple times, hit him in the knee, kicked him, and pulled and twisted his fingers. Burks then collapsed enroute to a second surveillance “blind spot” where officers threw him on the floor. Paramedics were called, but the officers did not inform them of the beatings. Burks was later pronounced dead. 

Cover Up Engineered

After this occurred, prosecutors say Lester, as the supervisor, engaged in an elaborate scheme to cover up what happened. Lester allegedly threatened subordinates with violence and retaliation, added false statements to the reports of multiple officers, ordered officers to give a false story to investigators, and gave false statements to investigators himself.

“This defendant wrongfully decided to obstruct an investigation into a fatal assault of an inmate,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. 

Lester was convicted in January by a federal jury on three felony obstruction of justice charges, witness tampering, and giving false statements. 

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

Other Guilty Pleas

The other officers involved are also facing prison time.

In November 2024, Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters pleaded guilty to use of unreasonable force against Burks, resulting in his death. Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2025. 

In August 2024, Ashley Toney and Jacob Booth pleaded guilty to violating Burks’s civil rights by failing to intervene when other officers used unreasonable force. Sentencing is set for June 9. 

Steven Nichlas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman pleaded guilty to conspiring to use unreasonable force against Burks. Fleshman will be sentenced July 14.  

The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, Charleston Resident Agency, investigated the case.

Family Speaks Out

The family of Quantez Burks also spoke out and said they want to help other families who experience a similar tragedy.

“When we first started out, we didn’t know anything. We didn’t have anything. We just winged it,” said his mother Kimberly Burks. “But I want to make sure they get the information they need. We want to help them get some type of closure. If it means the autopsy, if it means needing to get transportation, money to go somewhere, that’s what we want to do, and it’s all going to be in Quan’s name.”

The Burks family banded together to pay $5,000 for a private autopsy and to secure an attorney after they were not immediately provided with an autopsy report by the State Medical Examiner’s Office. 

After the autopsy, the Burks family launched a campaign to get answers and confronted elected officials including then Governor Jim Justice. Civil lawsuits were filed and eventually the FBI began its investigation.