A former corrections officer at the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, pleaded guilty on July 22 for his role in a conspiracy involving the use of unreasonable force against inmates, including pretrial detainees. Nathaniel Pack, 29, of Jumping Branch, pleaded guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 241.
According to his plea agreement and statements during the plea hearing, Pack admitted that from about April 2020 through March 1, 2022, he and other officers conspired to use unjustified force against inmates they believed had engaged in misconduct. As part of this conspiracy, Pack and others brought inmates to areas known as “blind spots” within the jail—locations not monitored by surveillance cameras—to assault them without being recorded.
Pack admitted that he and co-conspirators used unreasonable force on at least seven occasions. In November 2020, after an incident involving pretrial detainee J.D.H., Pack and others handcuffed J.D.H., took him to a blind spot interview room while he was not a threat, and struck him about his body, causing injury. In July 2021, Pack and others handcuffed another pretrial detainee identified as D.W.M., brought him to a blind spot interview room for failing to follow commands, and struck him while he was restrained; D.W.M. suffered lacerations and bleeding about his head.
In January 2022, Pack took pretrial detainee H.B. to a blind spot interview room where he struck H.B. in the face for calling another officer a slur; later H.B. was taken by Pack and another officer into another blind spot cell where H.B., still handcuffed and not threatening anyone, was punched repeatedly, resulting in facial injuries. On or about March 1, 2022, after pretrial detainee Q.B. attempted to leave his assigned pod without permission, Q.B. was restrained by officers who then escorted him into the blind spot interview room while Pack delayed medical staff from entering so co-conspirators could use force against Q.B.
Pack also admitted that as part of the conspiracy he helped prepare false reports denying excessive force had been used or omitting documentation of inmate injuries so that conspirators would avoid investigation or accountability.
Pack entered his plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn; sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 4, with a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines under the terms of his plea agreement.