United States Penitentiary, Pollock

United States Penitentiary, Pollock
Location Grant Parish
near Pollock, Louisiana
Status Operational
Security class High-security (with minimum-security prison camp)
Capacity 1,350 (260 in prison camp)
Managed by Federal Bureau of Prisons

The United States Penitentiary, Pollock (USP Pollock) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Louisiana. It is part of the Pollock Federal Correctional Complex (FCC Pollock) and operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp for minimum-security male offenders.

FCC Pollock is located in central Louisiana, approximately 15 miles north of Alexandria.[1]

Notable incidents

2006 escape

On April 5, 2006, convicted murderer Richard Lee McNair escaped from USP Pollock.[2] McNair's duties in prison included work in a manufacturing area, where he repaired old, torn mailbags. He held this position for several months, during which he plotted his escape. McNair escaped by constructing an "escape pod," which included a breathing tube, and burying it under a pile of outgoing mailbags. At approximately 9:45 AM, prison staff placed the mailbags on a pallet, transported it to a nearby warehouse outside the prison's perimeter fence, and went for lunch. McNair then cut himself out of the pod and escaped at 11:00 AM. Having observed prison operations and the times when prisoner counts were conducted, McNair knew that his absence would not be discovered until 4:00 PM. After an over yearlong manhunt, McNair was captured in New Brunswick, Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on Oct. 25, 2007 after being featured on the television program Americas Most Wanted.[2][3][4] Since McNair had previously escaped from a county jail and a state prison in North Dakota in 1987 and 1992, he was classified as a high-escape risk and transferred to the United States Penitentiary, Florence ADX, the federal supermax prison in Colorado which holds inmates requiring the tightest controls.[5]

Murders

In November 2007, inmate William Anthony Bullock was stabbed to death with a shank during an altercation with another inmate, identified as Shaun Wayne Williams. Williams had crafted the shank from a part of a cell locker. Williams, who was serving a 96-month sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2009 and sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison.[6][7]

Inmate Steven Prater, who was serving a 51-month sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm, was fatally injured during a fight with another inmate on June 24, 2010.[8][9] On January 18, 2010, inmate Carlton Coltrane was stabbed to death by another inmate. Coltrane's mother told The Washington Post that her son, who was serving a sentence for bank robbery, told her several days before that there were running disputes between gangs of inmates from Louisiana and the Washington, DC area.[10] The murders of Prater and Coltrane remain under investigation.

Notable inmates (current and former)

Inmate Name Register Number Status Details
Jose Robledo Nava 04832-748 Serving a life sentence. Leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation gang in Texas; convicted in 2010 of murder in connection with two drug-related homicides and conspiracy for directing the distribution of cocaine and marijuana.[11][12]
Donny Love, Sr. 23747-198 Serving a 55-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2059. Convicted in 2011 of using a weapon of mass destruction and other charges for masterminding the 2008 bombing of the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse in San Diego, California; three accomplices were sentenced to shorter terms.[13][14][15]
Roy Arredondo 33427-177 Serving a life sentence. Leader of the Texas Syndicate prison gang in Dallas; pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in 2008 for directing gang activities including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and other crimes.[16][17]
Burhan Yusuf 77999-083 Serving a life sentence. Somali pirate; pleaded guilty in 2011 to piracy in connection with the 2010 hijacking of the civilian yacht Quest, during which four US citizens were killed; Nine other pirates are serving life sentences at other federal facilities.[18][19]
Albert Talton 16721-112 Serving a 6-year sentence; scheduled for release in 2016. Notorious counterfeiter; pleaded guilty in 2008 to using inkjet and laser printers to produce over $7 million worth of phony $100 and $20 bills; the story was featured on the CNBC television program American Greed.[20]
Joel Lopez, Sr. 20142-079 Serving a life sentence. Drug trafficker; convicted in 2009 of attempting to hire a member of the Latin Kings gang to kidnap and murder US District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa in retaliation for Hinojosa sentencing him to life in prison in 2006.[21]

See also


References

  1. ↑ "BOP: USP Pollock". Bop.gov. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Escaped Murderer Richard Lee McNair". Crime.about.com. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  3. ↑ Christopher, Byron. "Richard Lee McNair Breaks His Silence". Last Link on the Left. May 14, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  4. ↑ "America's Most Wanted with John Walsh". AMW. 2013-09-20. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  5. ↑ "Federal Bureau of Prisons". Bop.gov. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Penintentiary Inmate Convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter of Another Inmate". Justice.gov. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  7. ↑ "FBI — Pollock Inmate Sentenced for Voluntary Manslaughter". Fbi.gov. 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  8. ↑ "Inmate dies following attack at Pollock prison | Corrections Special Operations - The Official Gateway To The Corrections Special Operations Community". Corspecops.com. 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  9. ↑ "Inmate dies after fight at Pollock prison | WBRZ News 2 Louisiana : Baton Rouge, LA |". Wbrz.com. 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  10. ↑ "Local Digest". Washingtonpost.com. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  11. ↑ Carver, Logan (May 14, 2010). "Latin Kings sentenced to life in prison". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal (TX). Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "ALMIGHTY LATIN KING AND QUEEN NATION GANG MEMBERS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR THEIR ROLES IN MULTIPLE MURDER, NARCOTICS AND FIREARMS CRIMES". US Department of Justice. May 13, 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Federal jury convicts California man in 2008 courthouse bombing". CNN. June 6, 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Payton, Mari (June 7, 2011). "Verdict in Courthouse Bombing". NBC Universal Media. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "Final Defendant in San Diego Federal Courthouse Bombing Sentenced". Federal Bureau of Investigation. February 15, 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  16. ↑ Wilonsky, Robert (2008-08-13). "Dallas-Based Texas Syndicate Leader Gets Life in Prison". Blogs.dallasobserver.com. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  17. ↑ "Roy Arredondo, Jr. Sentencing Press Release". Justice.gov. 2008-08-14. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  18. ↑ Nasaw, Daniel (2011-10-03). "BBC News - Somali pirates face hard time in US prison". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  19. ↑ "USDOJ: US Attorney's Office - Eastern District of Virginia". Justice.gov. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  20. ↑ "S | Crane's Corner". Kfbk.com. 2013-10-01. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  21. ↑ "USAO - 091016 - Lopez-Gonzalez". Justice.gov. Retrieved 2013-10-30.

External links

Coordinates: 31°28′00″N 92°26′30″W / 31.46667°N 92.44167°W