Former corrections officer pleads guilty to perjury in excessive force probe

Richard Wargo, a former Sergeant at Pender Correctional Institution in North Carolina, has pleaded guilty to perjury in a civil rights investigation. The investigation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), began in 2022 after reports of excessive force by officers at the prison. Sentencing for Wargo, aged 37, could result in up to five years in prison.

Court documents reveal that the inquiry focused on an incident from November 17, 2021, where prison officers removed an apparently intoxicated inmate and took him to a building without surveillance cameras. The inmate, handcuffed, suffered multiple baton strikes, leaving him with leg injuries and scars.

Wargo, on duty during this event, was responsible for drafting the incident report but failed to note his presence or involvement. Policy dictated that anyone involved should not write such reports.

In August 2023, Wargo told FBI investigators that he was merely the investigating officer and had no involvement in the incident. His grand jury testimony on August 22, 2023, repeated this claim. However, testimonies from other officers contradicted Wargo's account, placing him in the building during the assault and implicating him in the use of the baton.

On February 26, 2024, during a recorded interview, Wargo continued to deny his involvement until confronted with contradictory evidence. He then confessed to entering the building during the incident, drawing his baton, and witnessing other officers use force on the inmate.

Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announced the plea acceptance by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The FBI spearheaded the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh prosecuting.

Relevant documents can be accessed on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or via PACER with Case No. 7:24-cr-0043-BO.