An inmate previously housed at the United States Penitentiary (USP) Hazelton in Bruceton Mills will now serve additional time behind bars after he was convicted of assaulting a correctional officer on Sept. 15, 2021.
After a two-day trial, a jury of 12 found Dwight F. Foster, 50, guilty of assault of a correctional officer involving physical contact and possession of a weapon, according to court documents.
The incident occurred after Foster was found with a prison-made weapon during a random search. Court documents state when a correctional officer attempted to seize the object from Foster and detain him, Foster struck the officer in the face and chest with his fist.
Correctional officers at the Hazelton facility have recently been speaking out to make the public aware of staffing issues at the federal corrections complex (FCC) that are creating unsafe working conditions — like the incident involving Foster — and could potentially cause risk to public safety.
At a protest in late September, Justin Tarovisky, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 420 union president, said the FCC Hazelton was down around 84 officers. Those who do currently work there are often being mandated to work 16-hour shifts, four to five days a week.
In early October, federal authorities established a civil rights hotline for inmates to call if they felt their rights were being violated. This came after reports of abuse by correctional officers.
Following the hotline announcement, Tarovisky adamantly denied the reports of abuse saying that any allegations of abuse are immediately put under investigation, whether they are true or false.
After hearing the news about the newly established hotline, Tarovisky said many of the staff at Hazelton feel their rights are being violated with required overtime and are wondering, “Is there a hotline for us to call when we get mandated five times a week?”
With correctional officers finding it increasingly difficult to do their jobs because of short staffing and mandated extra shifts, the potential for additional incidents — like the attack by Foster — also increases, Tarovisky said.
“What leads to homicides? What leads to inmates bringing in contraband or stabbing each other or causing riots or disturbances?” Tarovisky said at the protest. “It all goes to lack of staffing, safety and security. Simple things. If you don’t have the bodies to monitor it, what happens? You could potentially get away with murder.”
A sentencing hearing for Foster is scheduled for Feb. 8. He faces up to 8 years in prison for the assault charge and up to 5 years for the weapon charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Foster’s case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon Flower and Christie Utt prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. Foster was represented by Elizabeth Gross, Hilary Godwin, and L. Richard Walker of the Federal Public Defenders Office in Clarksburg. Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
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