2023-08-22 20:28:29
By Sabrina Schnur ∙ Las Vegas Review-Journal
40 minutes ago
Lathaniel Hutcherson (Nevada Department of Corrections)
Corrections officials had requested better adherence to security protocols inside High Desert State Prison for months before an inmate was fatally stabbed, a union official said Tuesday.
Lathanial Hutcherson, 28, had served five years of a six to 20 year sentence for robbery when he died Sunday at High Desert State Prison, according to a statement from the Nevada Department of Corrections.
Paul Lunkwitz, president of Fraternal Order of Police Nevada CO Lodge 21, said Hutcherson was in a segregation cage exercising when another inmate broke out of his cage and stabbed Hutcherson with a prison-made knife.
Separation cages are used for inmates who might be endangered by exercising in the general population, or for inmates who have become a security risk when around other inmates. The Department of Corrections did not immediately release the name of the person suspected of stabbing Hutcherson.
Lunkwitz said he did not know why Hutcherson or the suspected shooter were in separation cages.
In emails to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, prison officials had asked Deputy Warden Jeremy Bean this month to reinstate the gun rails and increase the number of officers.
A “gun rail” is an officer who supervises from the roof of a correctional unit carrying a non-lethal weapon, called a “launcher,” but Lunkwitz said High Desert hasn’t had a “gun rail” in months.
“If there had been a gun railEven if the launchers had been ineffective, they would have been able to report an inmate trying to break out of his cage,” Lunkwitz said.
In response to the emails, Bean said there are quarterly safety meetings, but he didn’t know when the next one was scheduled.
State law requires inmates to exercise at least five hours a week, “unless doing so would pose a threat to the security of the institution or facility.”
Lunkwitz said that by not having the right staff suggested by corrections officials, the Department of Corrections is creating a security hazard.
“They are choosing to cut costs and ignore security protocols to give inmates the exercise time they are supposed to have,” Lunkwitz said. “It is not an excuse that they are ignoring security protocols.”
The Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
High Desert is the largest prison in the state, and is located regarding 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
A quarterly state report showed that the facility, with a budgeted capacity of 3,074 inmates, was holding 3,278 inmates as of June 30.
Former Raiders player Henry Ruggs recently entered the High Desert to begin serving a sentence of at least three years behind bars.
He was sentenced on August 9 to between three and 10 years in prison for a DUI accident that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor in November 2021.
Ruggs had pleaded guilty to one felony count of DUI resulting in death and one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter.
Corrections officials also said this week that Daniel Thomas, 55, died Saturday at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center while serving 10 years to life in prison for lewdness with a child under 14. Thomas had been detained in Mineral County since 2003.
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