CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Two former correctional officers at the Southern Regional Jail pleaded guilty Thursday for their roles in the March 2022 beating death of pretrial defendant Quantez Burks.
Both Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe admitted they violated Burks’ constitutional right by not protecting him from unreasonable force from corrections officers.
Toney and Boothe have been cooperating with federal prosecutors and will now provide testimony against four other former guards who are charged with taking part in the fatal beating.
“I failed to stop the officers for fear of retaliation to myself and my family,” Boothe told U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin during Thursday’s plea hearing in U.S. District Court in Charleston.
Boothe went on to say that he saw multiple officers “hitting, punching and knee-striking” the 37-year-old Burks in a sally port at SRJ and in an interview room where there was no video surveillance camera.
Toney, 24, told Goodwin she too was called for assistance when Burks tried to push his way by another officer in the sally port. Toney said she saw “excessive force” and “failed to intervene.”
According to federal prosecutors, Toney also participated in “obstructive conduct” when filling out her report about the incident and instructed other officers to leave out information about unreasonable force in their reports. She also lied to federal investigators, prosecutors told Goodwin.
Toney and Boothe face a maximum of 10 years in federal prison at their sentencings, which are scheduled for Nov. 4. They could also receive up to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
Burks’ mother, Kimberly Burks, told MetroNews outside the federal courthouse Thursday that she knows the U.S. Department of Justice is working hard on the case but the outcomes are still disappointing.
“Ashley Toney is getting off easy, as well as the other ones,” Burks said. “She played a bigger part in Quan’s death than she’s admitting. I really think both should have been put in jail today.”
Goodwin allowed both to stay out on bond until sentencing. Federal prosecutors did not object.
“I do believe in the DOJ and the FBI, but I just don’t agree with it. They deserve time for what the did,” Burks said.
U.S. Attorney for Southern West Virginia Will Thompson said Toney and Boothe did not participate directly in the beating but will be key witnesses in the cases against the other four former jail guards who did.
“Some of the beating took place in a portion of the jail that did not have cameras. That’s going to help with the prosecution of our case,” Thompson told MetroNews. “With respect to Miss Toney, there was an obstruction and a cover-up and she’s going help us quite a bit with that to help us make and prove our case.”
Former correctional officers Mark Holdren, Cory Snyder, Johnathan Walters and former Lt. Chad Lester are scheduled to go on trial beginning Oct. 8.
Two more corrections officers, Andrew Fleshman and Steven Nicholas Wimmer, last November pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the rights of citizens under federal code because of their actions in the death of Burks. They are cooperating witnesses and are still awaiting sentencing.
As for Kimberly Burks, she said she could “nitpick” things that she doesn’t agree with but she’s thankful the cases are advancing.
“This kind of thing has been going on at the SJR for years and years and years,” she said. “We will get some justice, maybe not what we want, but the big thing is hold them accountable and to try and prevent this thing from happening to another family down the road. They need to be made an example so this thing can stop. They are not above the law.”