LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada jail leaders stated ‘drug debt’ seems to be an element after a current string of homicides inside two Las Vegas-area prisons. Because the 8 Information Now Investigators first reported, 4 inmates have been killed in 4 separate homicides at Excessive Desert State Jail and Southern Desert Correctional Heart inside the previous month.
The Nevada Division of Corrections is “consulting outside experts to determine ways to curtail the influx of contraband and illegal substances into the institutions,” Director James Dzurenda stated.
Jail leaders beforehand advised the 8 Information Now Investigators a technique unlawful substances have been getting inside jail services is thru mail.
Each Excessive Desert State Jail and Southern Desert Correctional Heart, neighboring services positioned close to Indian Springs, which is roughly a 45-minute drive north of Las Vegas, are on modified operations, in line with the division.
Ryan Anthony Warren-Hunt, 35, died Monday. Paperwork additionally listed his identify as Anthony Ryan Warren-Hunt. (Division of Corrections)
D’marea Wallace, 18, died from a number of stab wounds on Wednesday, in line with the coroner’s workplace. (Division of Corrections)
Ronnie Owens
Jacob Herman, 35, and Jordan Canteberry, 34, have been killed 10 days aside inside Excessive Desert State Jail exterior of Las Vegas. (Division of Corrections)
The 4 homicides gave the impression to be unrelated and in numerous models, the division stated.
The newest murder occurred at Southern Desert Correctional Heart. Ryan Warren-Hunt, also referred to as Anthony Warren-Hunt, 35, died Monday. He started serving a 16-75 yr jail sentence in April 2020 for housebreaking with a firearm and a number of armed robberies in Clark County, in line with the Nevada Division of Corrections. The Clark County coroner’s workplace didn’t have data instantly obtainable Tuesday. Nonetheless, the 8 Information Now Investigators have discovered jail authorities thought of his demise to be a murder.
4 inmates killed in lower than 1 month at Las Vegas-area prisons
The opposite three suspected homicides occurred at Excessive Desert State Jail.
D’marea Wallace, 18, died from a number of stab wounds on Wednesday, in line with the Clark County coroner’s workplace. He started serving a three-to-eight-year sentence in December 2023 for theft, the division stated.
Jordan Canteberry, 34, died on July 26 from a number of stab wounds, the coroner decided. Canteberry started serving a 12 to 30-month sentence for theft and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon in June, in line with data. His theft cost stemmed from a December 2024 theft, data present. Canteberry agreed to a plea deal in a second case after he was initially charged with three gun expenses.
Sources advised the 8 Information Now Investigators that inmates tampered with their cell doorways to flee their cells earlier than attacking Canteberry.
2 Nevada jail deaths, 10 days aside, now homicide investigations
Jacob Herman, 35, died on July 16, in line with the division. Herman was serving a 12 to 36-month sentence for larceny from an individual. Herman was initially charged with theft, agreed to a plea deal and acquired a suspended sentence in Clark County, in line with courtroom data. A choose despatched him to jail in Might 2024 for violating phrases of probation, data present.
A fourth inmate at Excessive Desert State Jail, Ronnie Owens, 32, died on Friday. Sources advised the 8 Information Now Investigators they believed he died by murder. Nonetheless, the division is categorizing his demise as an overdose. Owens started serving a six-to-29-year sentence in April 2023 for theft with use of a lethal weapon and possession of stolen property, in line with the division. He was convicted in Clark County. His trigger and method of demise have been pending as of Monday, in line with the coroner’s workplace.
Excessive Desert State Jail is a maximum-security jail facility, which transitioned from a medium-security jail final yr. Two thousand inmates, together with Nevada’s demise row inhabitants, have been transferred from Ely State Jail, positioned almost 300 miles north of Indian Springs.
FILE – Towers view over the Excessive Desert State Jail in Indian Springs, Nev., April 15, 2015. (AP Picture/John Locher, File)
Southern Desert Correctional Heart is categorized as a medium-security facility.
Infrastructure issues, together with defective cell door locks and a scarcity of air con, have been ongoing points, in line with sources.
Critics have questioned the position of inmates, for instance, a extra low-level offender being positioned with high-level offenders. The division stated it’s reviewing customary procedures relating to classification of offenders and housing practices.
Dzurenda stated committees, which can be comprised of former offenders, researchers, advocates and IT specialists, are being shaped to deal with varied points, and he instructed wardens to deal with violence and drug abuse contained in the prisons.
“We can’t rely on our traditional operational plans alone,” Dzurenda stated in a information launch. “We have to do something that’s unique. We need to get creative in bringing in different perspectives and attack this problem from all angles. This is a top priority.”
To achieve investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, electronic mail [email protected]
