Prosecutors seek plea hearings for 2 West Virginia jail officers accused in inmate’s death

By JOHN RABY
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Prosecutors have asked a federal court to set plea hearings for two corrections officers on a charge stemming from an assault on a jail inmate who later died. Motions filed Wednesday seek the hearings for Southern Regional Jail officers Andrew Fleshman and Steven Wimmer. The officers were charged earlier this week in a criminal information that they conspired to deny Quantez Burks’ right to due process of law. That federal charging document is filed with a defendant’s consent and typically signals an intent to plead guilty. Burks was a pretrial detainee who died less than a day after he was booked into the jail in March 2022.