The United States Penitentiary, Beaumont (USP Beaumont) is a high security United States

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...

for male inmates in unincorporated Jefferson County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It is part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Beaumont (FCC Beaumont) and is operated by the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

, a division of the United States Department of Justice. FCC Beaumont is located approximately east of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Incidents

1998 inmate murder

On September 10, 1998, inmate Ellis Joseph Mosher stabbed fellow inmate Stanley Moseley to death in a housing unit. Mosher stabbed Moseley multiple times with a 13-inch improvised blade in full view of correctional officers on duty. Mosher was serving a 20-year sentence for

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

, while Moseley was serving a 15-year sentence for

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

. Mosher's defense claimed that Moseley had attacked him and raped him on previous occasions. Mosher's attorneys stated that he faced an imminent threat being housed with Moseley and had no alternative but to attack him. Mosher was sentenced to life in prison in 2008, he is currently housed at ADX Florence.

1999 inmate murder

On December 16, 1999, inmates Arzell Gulley and David Lee Jackson began arguing with another inmate, Darryl Brown. The argument resulted in Gulley and Jackson chasing Brown into a housing unit with "shanks", until they cornered him in a cell. The duo then stabbed Brown a total of 11 times, killing him. An autopsy found that a single knife strike hit Brown's left lung, resulting in his death. Gulley and Jackson were both indicted for the murder of Brown in 2005. Gulley was sentenced to life in prison and Jackson was sentenced to death. Jackson's death sentence was overturned and he was re-sentenced to life imprisonment after it was determined that the government withheld evidence in his trial. Gulley is currently serving his sentence at USP Lee, while Jackson is at USP Pollock.

2001 inmate murder

On January 5, 2001, inmate Luther Plant was beaten and stomped to death by inmate Shannon Wayne Agofsky in an exercise cage. Plant was serving a 15-year sentence for drug offences while Agofsky was serving a life sentence for armed robbery of a bank, and the subsequent kidnapping and murder of the bank president in Noel, Missouri. The autopsy revealed that Plant suffered numerous injuries including a crushed neck, abrasions on his head, a broken jaw and nose, hemorrhaging around both eyes, four broken teeth, and internal bleeding in the lungs, trachea, esophagus, and stomach. Agofsky was transferred to ADX Florence before being convicted and sentenced to death for Plant's murder in 2004. He was on death row at USP Terre Haute until December 2024, when President Biden commuted Agofsky's death sentence (and those of 36 other inmates on federal death row) to life in prison. Agofsky subsequently attempted to refuse the commutation as it would likely interfere with his ongoing appeal.

2005 inmate murder

On May 7, 2005, inmates Marwin Mosley and Joseph Ebron entered the cell of inmate Keith Barnes where Ebron held Barnes down as Mosley stabbed him 106 times, killing him. Barnes was incarcerated for murder and conspiracy to rob, however, he became a target for Mosley and Ebron due to his testimony against a co-defendant for a reduced sentence. Mosley committed suicide in prison in 2006, and Ebron was charged with first-degree murder in the case and sentenced to death in 2009. Additionally, Michael Bacote, the inmate who acted as the lookout during the homicide was charged with second-degree murder and sentenced to 28 years in prison. Ebron is currently housed on death row at USP Terre Haute, while Bacote is serving his sentence at USP Allenwood.

2007 inmate murder

On November 28, 2007, correction officers were escorting inmates Mark Snarr (11093-081) and Edgar Garcia (28132-177) to their cells at the USP Beaumont. When they arrived, Snarr and Garcia slipped from their restraints, repeatedly stabbed both correction officers with homemade prison knives known as shanks, and took the officers' cell keys. Snarr and Garcia then unlocked the cell of inmate Gabriel Rhone (09304-007) and stabbed Rhone over 50 times. Additional officers arrived and used chemical agents to stop the attack, which lasted several minutes and was captured on surveillance camera. The wounded corrections officers and Rhone were transported to a local hospital, where Rhone was pronounced dead. The officers were treated and survived. Attorneys for Snarr and Garcia claimed that Rhone had repeatedly threatened to kill their clients and that prison officials had failed to respond to those threats. However, Snarr and Garcia were subsequently convicted of murder and both were sentenced to death on May 24, 2010. They are currently being held on death row at USP Terre Haute.

2008 inmate murder

On February 12, 2008, USP Beaumont staff discovered the body of a 29-year-old inmate, Ronald Joseph, in his cell. An autopsy showed that Joseph died from asphyxia due to ligature strangulation or compression of the neck. Further investigation identified James Sweeney (58827-066) and Harry Lee Napper (32403-037), both inmates at USP Beaumont, as suspects in the murder. Sweeney and Napper were indicted and charged with

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...

to commit murder, and

second-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excus ...

on May 4, 2011. In 2012, Sweeney pleaded guilty to

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

and murder charges for leading the prison gang Dead Man Incorporated in exchange for the murder charge being dismissed and was sentenced to life in prison. Napper received a decades-long sentence. Sweeney is now at USP Victorville and Napper is at MDC Brooklyn.

2014 inmate murder

On March 3, 2014, inmates Ricky Fackrell and Christopher Cramer stabbed inmate Leo Johns to death. Fackrell, Cramer, and Johns were all members of the white supremacist prison gang Soldiers of Aryan Culture (SAC). Fackrell and Cramer decided they needed to punish Johns for gambling and drinking, activities that are prohibited for SAC members. Defense counsel for Fackrell claimed that the men only agreed to assault Johns, however, both men were convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to death in 2018. Fackrell and Cramer were initially housed at ADX Florence, but transferred to USP Terre Haute after sentencing.

2022 fatal altercation

On the morning of Monday, January 31, 2022, multiple MS-13 members began attacking associates of the Mexican Mafia and the Surenos. Although officers responded quickly, four inmates were severely injured and taken to the hospital. Of them, 34-year-old Andrew Pineda and 54-year-old Guillermo Riojas would later be pronounced dead. In the aftermath of the deadly fight, the United States Bureau of Prisons enacted a lockdown across the entire Federal Prison network. On April 7, 2022, 7 members of MS-13 were charged with racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and other offences related to the brawl. The indictment named Juan Carlos Rivas-Moreiera, Dimas Alfaro-Granados, Rual Landaverde-Giron, Larry Navarete, Jorge Parada, Hector Ramires, and Sergio Sibrian as defendants.

Notable inmates

* Joel Cacace - consigliere of the

Colombo crime family The Colombo crime family (, ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was during ...

, pleaded guilty to

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

, illegal gambling, and participating in four murders in 2004; released on May 22, 2020, after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence * Willis Mark Haynes - serving a life sentence plus 45 years for shooting and killing three women on the Patuxent Research Refuge in

Prince George's County, Maryland Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it ...

. His accomplice, Dustin Higgs, received a death sentence for his involvement in the crime, and was executed on January 16, 2021. * Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez - serving a 25-year sentence for perpetrating the 2011 White House shooting, an attempt to kill President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

; pleaded guilty to terrorism and weapons offenses for using a semi-automatic

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

; scheduled for release on June 21, 2033; transferred to FCI Herlong *

Richard Scrushy Richard Marin Scrushy#Mat08, Matulich 2008: 337 (born August 1952) is an American businessman and convicted felon. He is the founder of Encompass Health, HealthSouth Corporation, a global healthcare company based in Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingha ...

- Founder of HealthSouth Corporation who was convicted of bribery, conspiracy, and mail fraud. * Stephen Ernest Stockman - former

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for Texas's 36th congressional district sentenced for

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

mail and wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. feder ...

, and falsification of records; served 2 years of a 10-year sentence, received a presidential pardon from

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

on December 22, 2020 * Oscar Wyatt - founder of the Coastal Corporation in Texas; pleaded guilty in 2007 to

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

for paying kickbacks to

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

's regime to win oil contracts from Iraq; part of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Oil-for-Food Program debacle; released from custody on November 14, 2008; served 1 year at the minimum-security prison camp * Orlando Garcia - Found guilty of facilitation of first-degree murder in the murder of Tennessee State Trooper Calvin Jenks in January 2007 and sentenced to 19 years. * Andrew Beard - Found guilty of murdering his ex-wife Alyssa Burkett in October 2020. He was sentenced to 43 years. * Patrick Franklin Andrews - Serial killer who murdered fellow prisoner while serving 35-year-to-life sentence for two murders committed in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

References

External links

Federal Correctional Institution, Beaumont
– Official website {{Federal Bureau of Prisons Buildings of the United States government in Texas 1998 establishments in Texas Beaumont Prisons in Jefferson County, Texas