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Attorneys for ESP inmate James Ofeldt accused of murdering his cell mate Eric Hauser may have struck gold in a series of e-mails from prison officials that may lay the foundation for a justifiable homicide defense.
Two of the e-mails already submitted into evidence and obtained by the High Desert Advocate were from ESP officer Cameron Horsley to ESP officer Russ Fonoimoana. In them Horsley relates that he was told by one or more inmates that Ofeldt was the target of a hit by and Ely prison gang and that Houser was the designated hit man.
click link below for autopsy and emails
That information directly contradicts information received by the Advocate that Houser was killed by Ofeldt for being a “race traitor”.
Originally sentenced to the minimum security Carlin Honor Camp, Houser walked away while on a work detail in 2008 with less than a year before parole. He was captured less than a week later in Reno and now deemed a flight risk was sent to Ely Maximum Security Prison where he was ordered to serve out his full sentenced with another six years tacked on for his escape.
This August the High Desert Advocate was the ultimate recipient of an anonymous letter dated August 11, 2011 which read:
“Caseworker Mrs Weiss is the lady who put them in for the bed move); head case worker Mr Drain, CERT team Lt. Mr (forgothisname), Associate Warden of Operations Mrs Debra Brooks and Associate Warden of Programs Mr WIlls approved the bed move.
Now the individual that was murdered goes by the nickname Pingo. He is one of the most respectable prisoners amongst the prisoners except of the LAD’s) which is a white skinhead group. At Ely if you’re not running with your race you’re doomed. …
Let me tell you this, Pingo use to draw pictures and cards for free for everybody…. Also this is Caseworker Mrs Weiss second time placing 2 people in cells and one ends up murdering the other. …
Pingo was cool with all races, in which numerous inmates and prison guards do not accept. Amongst the whites he was considered a trader (sic).”
According to other sources in the prison and now confirmed by the state’s press release, Hauser and his alleged killer had only be very recently moved into the same cell.
Ofeldt has a long and violent history both before and during his stay at Ely State Prison. Originally convicted of nine counts of armed robbery Ofeldt entered the prison system in 2004 and in the less than eight years served racked up 83 reports of violations of prison rules including over 30 reports of attacks on other inmates or staff at the prison.
click link below for Ofeldt’s discipline report
He was considered so dangerous that during his arraignment last month, he appeared not only handcuffed and shackled but was also flanked by two heavily armed guards from the prison’s elite special operations response team (SORT).
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Judge Dan papez found the potential of violence so great that he granted the prosecution motion that Ofeldt wear a stun belt during his upcoming trial. Ofeldt’s arraignment is now being webcast on www.coyote-tv.com.
A stun belt is a belt that is fastened around the subject’s waist, leg, or arm that carries a battery and control pack, and contains features to stop the subject from unfastening or removing it. A remote-control signal is sent to tell the control pack to give the subject an electric shock. Some models are activated by the subject’s movement.
These devices are used to control prisoners in the United States. One type is the REACT belt. Some stun belts can restrain the subject’s hands and have a strap going under the subject’s groin to stop him from rotating the belt around the subject’s waist and trying to deactivate it.
Introduced in the USA in the early ‘90s, by 1996 it was reportedly in use by the US Bureau of Prisons, the US Marshals Service, and 16 state correctional agencies including those of Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, and Washington.
Ofeldt’s attorneys do not however have to prove their client is an angel but rather that the late Eric Hauser was no angel. Or at least bring up enough reasonable doubt that Ofeldt could have been defending himself in an attack initiated by Hauser.
The prosecution may find itself having to prove that the e-mails from on correctional officer to another were the end result of an elaborate ruse devised by inmates to get their associate off.
Almost the entire prison population is on ‘lock down’ 23 out of 24 hours a day and that situation has existed at least as long as Houser’s killing and perhaps much longer.
But the near constant caging of some of the most violent and dangerous men in Nevada has not meant a complete absence of violence by prisoners toward other inmates or on guards or other staff of the prison.
While official news coming out of the prison is kept to an almost complete blackout, nonofficial sources tell of a facility where Correction Officers are attacked on an almost daily basis.
In a letter posted on the Nevada prison Watch website an inmate gleefully related a mass action against staff earlier this year:
“A young soldier kicked it off by “capturing” his food slot, giving the unit senior a golden shower and starting a fire on the tier. Throughout the day more fires were lit. Both sides of unit one managed to flood out both wings and hallway. Fire “cocktails” and “donuts” were lobbed at the guards. But no cell extraction were attempted because the January 31st 2010 rebellion was still fresh in their minds and none of these cops are anxious to put themselves in that position again (c.o. Stubbs was stabbed on January 31st 2010 when he and a dozen other officers tried to assault another prisoner). In the end. There were no serious injuries (thankfully), but the guards were forced to do a lot of manual labor. And there was a decent amount of property damage. The best part was: the next day, we got our food back!!”
In the past other mass violent actions have also resulted in “victories” for the inmates, perhaps teaching them that might does make right. In 2007 Ely State Prison allegedly experienced a series of reported disturbances including the flooding of tiers and small fires in the cell blocks, as a result of requiring inmates be dressed in jump suits before getting their meals. For three days inmates started fires on the tiers, flooded their cells by plugging drains and propelled foul or nasty substances at correctional staff. Sources further reported that extra correctional officers had to be called in on overtime to deal with the disturbances which were exacerbated by chronic staff shortages.
The riotous response that resulted may have been effective. After three days the policy was rescinded.
The dangerous conditions at the prison may explain why even during the recession and the double digit unemployment rate in Nevada, ESP officials still have trouble staffing the facility.
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