A trial date has been pushed back in the federal case against corrections officers charged in the death of a pretrial defendant at Southern Regional Jail.
Also, this week a federal judge will hear attorneys for the accused corrections officers describe reasons they should be released from jail prior to the trial.
The six former West Virginia corrections officers have been indicted in the beating death of Quantez Burks, a pretrial defendant at Southern Regional Jail, in a “blind spot” not monitored by a surveillance system after he was restrained, handcuffed and in the custody of multiple officers.
Five of the officers are accused of playing direct roles in his death, depriving Burks of his civil rights, while another is accused of taking part in a coverup.
The six corrections officers join two others who already pleaded guilty to depriving Burks of his rights. So a total of eight corrections officers have now been implicated the actions surrounding his beating death at the jail.
Burks, 37, had only been in jail 24 hours. He had been arrested Feb. 28, 2022, and charged with wanton endangerment and obstructing an officer, allegations related to discharging a firearm at his home during an argument. He died March 1.
The central allegation is that after Burks tried to push past a corrections officer and leave the jail’s C-pod, officers restrained him in handcuffs and beat him in an interview room. The indictment alleges the officers forcibly walked him to the interview room that was already occupied by an inmate, who was ordered to leave.
The officers then repeatedly struck and assaulted Burks, the indictment alleges, before forcibly walking him to another location known as the A-pod and he collapsed on the floor. Even after that, the indictment alleges, the beatings continued.
Five former correctional officers — Mark Holdren, 39; Corey Snyder, 29; Johnathan Walters, 35; Jacob Boothe, 25; and Ashley Toney, 23 — have been charged in connection with an assault on Burks, identified in the court filing only by his initials.
All five correctional officers, as well as a former lieutenant, Chad Lester, 33, were also charged for covering up the use of unlawful force.
Lawyers for several of the officers have filed motions for their release with conditions ahead of their trial, saying they do not represent flight risks.
For example, the lawyer for Snyder wrote that “there is a condition or combination of conditions that would ensure the appearance if the Defendant and protect the community if the Defendant were released from incarceration prior to trial.”
The lawyer for Holdren similarly wrote that so far “the government offered no evidence to support a conclusion that any other person or the community would be endangered by Mr. Holdren’s release on bond with conditions.”
U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin, who has taken over the case from Judge Frank Volk, scheduled a hearing on possible release conditions for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Charleston.
A trial in the case originally had been scheduled for Jan. 23.
At the request of the defendants and without opposition from federal prosecutors, Goodwin moved the trial date to 9 a.m. April 30 in Beckley.
“The requested delay is not attributable to the lack of diligent preparation, to failure to obtain evidence or witnesses or to congestion of the court’s calendar,” Goodwin wrote.
The judge concluded that a delay of a few months is wise, “believing that the ends of justice served by granting continuance outweighs the best interest of the public and defendants in a speedy trial.”