New Hampshire Guard Abuse and Theft Uncovered Through Poaching Investigation
A major investigation conducted by New Hampshire Fish and Game officials found not only an extensive illegal poaching ring but a trove of evidence of guards at a state prison abusing prisoners, falsifying records, and potential drug trafficking. Yet, despite the evidence, the state has so far declined to file criminal charges.
Operation “Night Cat,” as the poaching investigation was known, focused on five men who killed over three dozen animals out of season, including bears, deer, and foxes, over a three-year period. The men frequently shared images or videos of their kills, providing evidence that would eventually lead to each of them being convicted for hunting-related crimes; as it turned out, four of the poachers—Sgt. Thomas Kelley, Lt. Randy Inman, Sgt. Gerald Williams, and Sgt. Sherwood Dubrey—were current or former guards at the New Hampshire State Prison for Men.
Documents obtained by New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) show text messages exchanged in 2021 between Kelley and another guard, Sgt. Christopher Masse, in which they explicitly discuss intercepting a prisoner’s complaint. “Holy fuck dude this legal mail and rate notes are out of fucking hand,” Masse, who had learned he was the likely subject of a complaint, wrote. Kelley, after stealing six pieces of mail and sending a photograph of them, replied: “Dude it’s bad. I took a ton home with me that probably contain your name.” Masse then thanked him for the cover up, “thanks for saving my ass haha. Ur the true hero tonight.”
The two guards’ conversation lined up with a cell raid that a prisoner recalled happening around the same time (the prisoner had filed a complaint regarding physical abuses and said his notes were taken during the raid). Kelley was fired by the state Department of Corrections two years later, in May 2023. Masse was placed on non-disciplinary suspension during the investigation and returned to the job in July 2024.
Additionally, text messages between Inman and his then-girlfriend, written between 2022 and 2023, revealed the guard was apparently acting as a middleman for drug purchases between his girlfriend and stepson. In other conversations with a fellow guard, Inman discusses leaving envelopes of pills and cash in the gas caps of vehicles at the prison. Inman retired from the prison in 2023.
While legal experts interviewed by NHPR agreed that prosecutors could have probed deeper, the implicated guards will unlikely face criminal charges for these crimes given that the state stayed its investigation.
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