U.S. Attorney Thompson Announces Guilty Verdicts against Former West Virginia Correctional Officer

On January 28, 2025, United States Attorney Will Thompson held a press conference at the Robert C. Byrd U.S. Courthouse in Charleston, W.Va., to announce that a federal jury convicted former West Virginia correctional officer Chad Lester guilty of all three felony counts against him following a four-day trial. Lester is among six former Southern Regional Jail correctional officers indicted in connection with the March 1, 2022, assault and death of an inmate and the subsequent cover-up. Lester’s co-defendants previously pleaded guilty. A news release from the press conference is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:23-cr-188.