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Sixth Guard Sentenced in West Virginia Killing 
of Pretrial Detainee

A former West Virginia guard who failed to intervene while fellow guards beat to death pretrial detainee Quantez Burks, 37, was sentenced on June 9, 2025, for her role in the 2022 assault. 

Ashley Toney, 25, got six and a half years in prison and an additional three years of supervised release from the federal court for the Southern District of West Virginia. As PLN reported, five other guards who participated in the attack have also been charged. [See: PLN, Mar. 2025, p.39.] One former lieutenant, Chad Lester, 35, was sentenced in May 2025 to 17 years in prison after being convicted of three counts of obstruction of justice. 

According to the federal Department of Justice, Toney and other guards at Southern Regional Jail in the town of Beaver brought Burks into an interview room, handcuffed him, and closed the door while multiple fellow guards beat Burks. He died on March 1, 2022. 

Toney pleaded guilty on August 8, 2024 to deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in physical injury. “The defendant’s inaction led to the death of a 37-year-old man, and afterwards she attempted to shield herself and fellow officers from being held accountable for his death,” Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston said in the release.  

 

Additional source: MetroNews