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Former lieutenant’s sentencing closes yearslong federal prison abuse scandal
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN LONDON — A former lieutenant at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Martin County was sentenced Tuesday to 17 months in federal prison for falsifying records to cover up the beating of an inmate who had pleaded for protective custody. This is the final sentencing in a yearslong federal civil rights…
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Federal inmate charged in killing at USP Big Sandy
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN A federal inmate serving time at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy is facing a murder charge in the October 2024 killing of another prisoner. A grand jury in Ashland returned an indictment Feb. 26 charging Daviian Dwane Roberts, 35, of Midland, Texas, with the Oct. 15, 2024, killing of…
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Prison education program artwork on display at Mountain Arts Center
PRESTONSBURG — Artwork created behind prison walls is now on public display at the Mountain Arts Center (MAC). Twenty-five pieces by incarcerated artists and students in the Big Sandy Community and Technical College (BSCTC) Prison Education Program are being exhibited throughout January. The exhibition features a variety of styles and media and includes work by…
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Federal probe widens: Former prison lieutenant admits cover-up in inmate assault
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PIKEVILLE — A former lieutenant at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy has pleaded guilty to falsifying records to conceal the violent assault of an inmate seeking protective custody. He becomes the latest official swept up in a widening federal probe into brutality and cover-ups inside the high-security prison in…
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Virginia woman indicted for allegedly smuggling drugs into federal prison in Kentucky
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN INEZ, Ky. — A 63-year-old Virginia woman is facing criminal charges after her indictment Thursday in Martin County for allegedly smuggling drugs into the U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord. The grand jury charged Irene A. Looney of Pounding Mill, Virginia, with second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (over 20…
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Former Kentucky federal corrections supervisor sentenced to 5-1/2 years for leading cover-ups of inmate assaults
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT PIKEVILLE — A former Bureau of Prisons supervisor was sentenced Tuesday to five and one-half years in prison followed by one year of supervised release for leading two cover-ups of assaults of inmates held at U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord. Kevin X. Pearce, 39, of Inez, was convicted in March after…
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Former correctional officers sentenced
CITIZEN STAFF REPORT LEXINGTON — Two ex-corrections officers received prison sentences Nov. 8 for assaulting inmates at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord. Samuel J. Patrick, 41, of West Van Lear, and Clinton L. Pauley, 42, of Ironton, Ohio, received prison sentences of 36 and 40 months, respectively. This sentencing follows their guilty pleas and…
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Bardstown teen arrested on federal prison property with suspicious items; motive unclear
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN DEBORD — Police arrested a Bardstown teen Friday for criminal trespassing at the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord. Marcus Durbin, 19, was nearly 200 miles from his Nelson County home when he entered the federal property equipped with a ski mask, hand restraints and a lock-blade folding knife.…
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Drone carrying contraband intercepted near federal prison; one arrest made
BY RACHEL DOVE MOUNTAIN CITIZEN VAN LEAR — A significant police operation unfolded in Stoney Brook Estates on New Route 3 Thursday morning. Residents awakened to a large police presence as law enforcement swooped in to intercept a drone transporting a substantial quantity of contraband. According to a Johnson County Sheriff’s Department representative, the cargo…
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Federal prison lieutenant convicted of covering up assaults of inmates
BY ROGER SMITH MOUNTAIN CITIZEN PIKEVILLE — A federal jury convicted a former Kentucky Federal Bureau of Prisons lieutenant on two counts of obstruction for covering up assaults of two inmates by corrections officers under his command. Kevin Pearce, 38, of Inez, Kentucky, a former supervisor at the U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Debord, was…
