ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 30, 1996 TAG: 9612300040
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A state prison brought in dogs and a specially trained assault team after an inmate slashed the warden and other convicts set the library ablaze, the Department of Corrections said Friday.
Buckingham Correctional Center will remain locked down until officials are confident it is secure, said department spokesman David Botkins. He said there will be no changes in the prison's overall security policy.
Warden Eddie L. Pearson was slashed from ear to lip in the prison lunch room Thursday afternoon.
After the knifing, inmates set fire to trash cans and the library, said Department of Corrections Director Ron Angelone. About 20 other inmates stormed a chain-link fence separating them from assistant warden Henry Panton and chief of security Calvin Booker.
Angelone said the inmates were about 30 feet from the unarmed officers when a guard in the prison's operation center fired five rounds from an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, injuring four inmates.
The inmate suspected of slashing Pearson was identified as Dennis Keith Webb, 32. Prison officials found a sharpened piece of metal that they believe Webb used to stab the warden, Angelone said. It was being tested by forensic experts.
``We go to great pains to prevent inmates from accessing anything like pieces of metal or contraband that can be fashioned into a prison-made weapon,'' said Botkins. ``But these inmates are very crafty people. They have a way of accessing contraband.''
Pearson was treated at Southside Community Hospital in Farmville and released.
Pearson had no previous interaction with Webb, said Angelone. ``The warden had no recall of the inmate's name or his physical characteristics. He had not dealt with him before.''
Four inmates - William Gibson, 36, Harold Anderson, 22, Timothy Porter, 24, and Shawn Taylor, 23 - were injured in the shooting. Two had wounds through their hands, one had a neck injury, and one suffered a broken bone after being shot in the arm. None of the injuries was life-threatening, said Angelone.
The four will be charged, along with any others who can be identified as having participated in the disturbance, Angelone said.
Prison officials were searching the prison and interviewing inmates who may know something about the disturbances.
``We'll go through every cell and find anything and everything,'' said Angelone. ``That includes drugs, all contraband and any weapons we may find.''
Webb is in prison for various crimes committed in 1986 and 1987, including malicious wounding, carrying a concealed weapon and robbery in Richmond and Chesterfield County. He has been at Buckingham since June 1993 and isn't eligible for release until Feb. 26, 2069.
Botkins said Webb had a record of disruptive behavior at other Virginia prisons, but he would not elaborate. ``Let's just say this guy's no Boy Scout,'' he said.
Botkins said Webb and the others being charged could eventually be transferred to Wallens Ridge or Red Onion correctional centers, super maximum security prisons in Southwest Virginia scheduled to be completed in 1998.
``Those are designed specifically for cases like this,'' said Botkins. ``It's a more restrictive environment, and inmates spend more time all alone in their cells.''
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