A former corrections officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, has been sentenced for his involvement in an assault that led to the death of an inmate identified as Q.B. on March 1, 2022. Steven Nicholas Wimmer, aged 25 and from Bluefield, received a nine-year prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release.
Wimmer pleaded guilty and admitted to responding to a call for assistance after Q.B. attempted to push past another officer. The officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B., then escorted him to an interview room where he was struck and injured while posing no threat. Wimmer confessed that the actions were intended as punishment for Q.B.'s attempt to leave his assigned area.
Alongside Wimmer, former officer Andrew Fleshman also pleaded guilty on November 2, 2023, to conspiring with others to use unreasonable force against Q.B. Fleshman is scheduled for sentencing on July 14. Additionally, six other defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on November 29, 2023.
In November 2024, former correctional officers Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters admitted guilt concerning the use of unreasonable force leading to Q.B.'s death. Their sentencing hearings are set for June 16. Meanwhile, Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe pleaded guilty on August 8, 2024, for failing to intervene during the incident; their sentencing is scheduled for June 9.
Chad Lester, a former Lieutenant at the jail, was convicted by a federal jury on January 27 of three obstruction of justice charges related to covering up Q.B.'s death. His sentencing is slated for May 15.
The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The FBI's Pittsburgh Field Office conducted the investigation into this case.
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed Wimmer's sentence while Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith prosecuted alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Further information can be found through PACER under Case No. 5:23-cr-134 or via the website of the U.S Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.