A former correctional officer from the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, West Virginia, has been sentenced for his involvement in an assault that led to the death of an inmate. Andrew Fleshman, 22, of Shady Spring, received a sentence of eight years and four months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Fleshman admitted to responding to a call for assistance after inmate Q.B. attempted to leave his assigned pod on March 1, 2022. After officers restrained and handcuffed Q.B., Fleshman and others escorted him to an interview room where they struck him while he was restrained. Fleshman acknowledged that this was done as punishment for Q.B.'s attempt to leave his pod.
Fleshman pleaded guilty before Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk on November 2, 2023. On the same day, former correctional officer Steven Nicholas Wimmer also pleaded guilty to conspiring to use unreasonable force against Q.B. Chief Judge Volk sentenced Wimmer to nine years in prison on May 8, 2025.
Six other defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on November 29, 2023. In November 2024, Mark Holdren, Corey Snyder, and Johnathan Walters pleaded guilty in connection with the use of unreasonable force resulting in Q.B.'s death. United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin sentenced Holdren to 20 years and Walters to 21 years on July 9, 2025; Snyder received a sentence of over nineteen years on July 10.
Ashley Toney and Jacob Boothe pleaded guilty in August 2024 for failing to intervene during the assault. Toney was sentenced to six and a half years on June 9, while Boothe received three years on July 10.
Chad Lester faced trial for obstruction of justice charges related to covering up Q.B.'s death. A federal jury found him guilty on January 27, leading Judge Goodwin to sentence him to seventeen and a half years on May 15.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon and Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston announced these developments following investigations by the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office's Charleston Resident Agency.
Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti and Trial Attorney Tenette Smith prosecuted the case alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Further information can be accessed through PACER using Case No. 5:23-cr-133 or via the U.S. Attorney’s Office website for the Southern District of West Virginia.
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