2 more West Virginia correctional officers plead to charges related to 2022 inmate death

Two more former West Virginia correctional officers pleaded guilty in the 2022 death of a Southern Regional Jail inmate who died after being beaten. (Chris Jackson | West Virginia Watch)

Two more former West Virginia correctional officers this week admitted their roles in the 2022 death of a Southern Regional Jail inmate who died after being beaten in retaliation for trying to leave his assigned pod. 

Johnathan Walters pleaded guilty Monday and Corey Snyder pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring with other inmates to violate the civil rights of Quantez Burks, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. 

The Department of Justice identified the man with the initials Q.B., but multiple news outlets have identified him as Burks, a 37-year-old man who reportedly died March 1, 2022, one day after he was booked at the jail in Beaver on charges of wanton endangerment and obstructing an officer. 

According to court documents, Snyder responded to a call for assistance after Burks tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. Officers restrained and handcuffed Burks and then brought him to an interview room with no surveillance cameras, where Walters joined. There, the guards beat Burks and sprayed him with pepper spray to punish him for attempting to leave the pod, the news release said.

Afterward, they transported him to another pod. When Burks’ body became limp and he was unable to walk, the guards carried him by his arms and legs down the hall to the other pod, where they admitted to swinging his head against the door to open it, the news release says.

According to plea agreements, both men face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Including Walters and Synder, six former correctional officers were indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023 in connection with Burks’ death. 

Three of the defendants previously pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against him. Trial for another defendant is scheduled for Dec. 10. 

Last year before the indictment, two other guards pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Burks.