Fifth West Virginia Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Federal Civil Rights Violation in Connection with Death of Inmate

A former corrections officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, pleaded guilty today for his role in an assault that resulted in the death of an inmate, identified by the initials Q.B., on March 1, 2022. Mark Holdren pleaded guilty to conspiring with other officers to violate inmate Q.B.'s civil rights which resulted in the death of Q.B.

According to court documents filed in connection with the guilty plea, Holdren responded to a call for officer assistance after Q.B. tried to push past another correctional officer and leave his assigned pod. When Holdren arrived, officers were engaged in using force to restrain Q.B. Holdren also began using force which included multiple knee-strikes to Q.B.'s body, which he acknowledged were unreasonable uses of force according to his training and experience. Holdren and other officers then conspired to violate Q.B.'s civil rights by unlawfully punishing Q.B. to retaliate against him for his attempt to push past officers and leave the pod. As a part of that conspiracy, officers brought Q.B. to an interview room, where they continued to use unreasonable force against Q.B. Specifically, officers struck Q.B. in the head multiple times, kicked, knee-struck, pulled and twisted Q.B.'s finger and sprayed Q.B. with O.C. spray, all while Q.B. was restrained, handcuffed and posed no threat to anyone.

Holdren further admitted knowing that the interview room to which officers brought Q.B. was a "blind spot" at the jail - meaning, there were no surveillance cameras to record what happened inside the room. Holdren was aware that, prior to the assault of Q.B. on March 1, 2022, officers brought inmates and pretrial detainees who had engaged in misconduct to "blind spots" in the jail, where the officers could use unreasonable force without being captured on video. Holdren admitted that he knew that it was improper for officers to use unreasonable force to punish inmates and pretrial detainees.

Holdren is one of six former correctional officers indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023. Two defendants previously pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force against Q.B. On Aug. 8, Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe each pleaded guilty to violating Q.B.'s civil rights by failing to intervene when other officers used unreasonable force. Sentencing hearings for Boothe and Toney are scheduled for Jan. 9, 2025.

Trial for the remaining three defendants is scheduled for Dec. 10.

Prior to the indictment, on Nov. 2, 2023, former Southern Regional Jail officers Steven Nicholas Wimmer and Andrew Fleshman each separately pleaded guilty to conspiring with other officers to use unreasonable force against Q.B in connection with this incident. Sentencing hearings for Wimmer and Fleshman are scheduled for Feb. 7, 2025.

According to his plea agreement, Holdren faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney William S. Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Kevin P. Rojek of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office, Charleston Resident Agency, is investigating the case.

Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney William S. Thompson for the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.