Corey Snyder is the seventh defendant to plead guilty in connection to the death of inmate Quatnez Burks in 2022.
CHARLESTON A seventh former correctional officer from Southern Regional Jail in Beaver has pleaded guilty in connection to the March 2022 beating death of pretrial inmate Quantez Burks.
Corey Snyder admitted Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin to conspiring with other officers to violate Burks’ civil rights, leading to his death. Snyder faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Court records detail how Snyder responded to a March 1, 2022, call for assistance after Burks attempted to push past officers to leave C-pod, a housing unit for inmates. When Snyder arrived, other officers were already restraining and handcuffing Burks. Snyder joined in, using force that included placing his arm around Burks’ neck and taking him to the floor.
Officers then moved Burks to an interview room, identified as a surveillance blind spot, where Snyder and Jonathan Walters, another former officer who recently pleaded guilty, unlawfully punished Burks for trying to leave the pod. While restrained and handcuffed, Burks was struck in the head, kicked, kneed, and had his fingers pulled and twisted. Officers also sprayed him with O.C. spray despite him posing no threat.
The assault continued as officers transported Burks to A-pod, another area without cameras. Burks became limp during the move, requiring officers to carry him. Walters admitted to striking Burks’ head against a metal door frame upon arrival and dropping him to the ground.
In front of the Byrd Federal Courthouse in Charleston following the hearing, Burks’ mother, Kimberly Burks said it was hard to hear the details of the case.
“It’s heartbreaking because you have one person who did so much, even after dying, they still continued to beat him and smash his hands and all of that stuff; it is never okay,” she said.
Kimberly said the officers will have to live with what they did to her son.
Snyder’s sentencing is scheduled for February 5 at 11 a.m. in Charleston. Walters is also set to be sentenced on February 5, along with Matthew Holdren, another officer involved in the conspiracy and assault. In fact, the recent pleas are just the latest in a series of cases involving Burks’ death.
In August, Jacob Boothe and Ashley Toney admitted to failing to intervene during Burks’ assault, violating his civil rights. Both acknowledged knowing officers used surveillance blind spots to apply excessive force without being recorded. They face up to ten years in prison and will be sentenced on January 9.
Moreover, former officers Steven Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman also face up to ten years behind bars after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate Burks’ civil rights. Their sentences are set to be handed down on February 7.
The last defendant, former lieutenant Chad Lester, is accused of covering up the excessive force used on Burks. Lester’s trial is scheduled for December 10.
PHOTO | Southern District of WV
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