Agency: Guard in Arkansas prison tower failed drug test, appeared 'dazed'

Devonte McCarter
Devonte McCarter

Former prison guard Devante McCarter failed a drug test hours after he holed up in a tower at the Delta Regional Unit and ignored orders to come down, which prompted an emergency response that remains under review, Arkansas Department of Correction authorities said.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

McCarter, 24, of Greenville, Miss., is charged with commercial burglary, a felony, and impairing the operation of a vital public facility, a misdemeanor.

McCarter reported to work nearly two hours late Oct. 1, appeared "dazed" and didn't answer when asked if he was "OK" before climbing into a tower in which he didn't belong, according to a Correction Department report obtained Friday by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

McCarter stayed in the tower with a gun and ammunition for close to 12 hours despite orders to come down, and he was mostly unresponsive when superiors tried to talk to him, according to the report. McCarter was in the tower for about three hours before the prison warden ordered that visitation be canceled, the report shows.

A "critical incident review" into the Oct. 1 prison tower standoff is ongoing, Correction Department spokesman Solomon Graves said. According to department policy, a committee of department staff may conduct those reviews to assess emergency response in situations where there is "an unexpected threat to, or loss of, life."

The committee "will usually" finish the work within 45 days and produce a written report outlining facts and recommendations, according to the policy.

McCarter did not make demands, no one was injured, no shots were fired and inmates were not endangered at any time, officials have said.

McCarter's urine tested positive for marijuana, according to a drug test report.

A debriefing report regarding "staff crisis" that was completed Oct. 1 says McCarter did not directly answer when asked why he was reporting late and did not respond when asked if he was OK. McCarter asked for his radio and confirmed the name of the lieutenant who was talking to him.

McCarter was then informed that he would be working in the east tower instead of the west tower, but he reported to the west tower anyway and was heard over the radio system conducting a security check, according to the report.

Several staff members, the warden and McCarter's family tried to talk with him over the course of the next 12 hours, but McCarter was mostly unresponsive, the report says. Before 10 a.m., McCarter asked to speak to a specific captain, but whatever exchange they may have had later is not reflected in the report.

Electricity to the tower was cut at about 6:45 p.m. About an hour later, Correction Department Director Wendy Kelley, who had been trying to communicate with McCarter by phone and radio throughout the day, asked McCarter to come down. The prison guard responded "copy" by radio and within six minutes exited the tower, the report says. He was arrested.

McCarter was fired Oct. 10 for failing a drug test, failure to relinquish a post when ordered, and similar policy violations, according to his personnel file, also obtained under Freedom of Information Act laws.

Chicot County Circuit Judge Sam Pope has ordered a mental evaluation for McCarter.

State Desk on 10/22/2016

Upcoming Events