Officials release identy of Illinois prison inmate shot and killed during hostage incident

8-24-2010 Illinois:

The identity of an prison inmate killed during a hostage-taking incident in Pinckneyville has been released.

His name is Alonje Walton.

Police shot and killed Walton nearly seven hours into a stand-off in which he held a 62-year-old female prison employee hostage at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center in southern Illinois.

Walton, 37, was serving time for the aggravated criminal sexual assault and kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl in 1995.

The exact cricumstances of how he took and held the hostage are under investigation. ..Source.. by Deborah O'Malley

Pinckneyville Correctional Center hostage situation ends in inmate death

12-15-2009 Illinois:

PINCKNEYVILLE - An inmate of the Pinckneyville Correctional Center has been shot and killed, the end result of a nearly seven-hour hostage situation involving a female employee of the prison.

The offender, a 37-year-old black male, serving a sentence for aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping out of Cook County, was shot and pronounced dead at the scene at 5:03 p.m., according to a release from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The hostage, a 62-year-old female employee, was rescued and is currently being evaluated by medical personnel. She will be transported to a local hospital for further evaluation, IDOC said.

Illinois State Police Division of Internal Investigation will be investigating the incident.

The facility remains on lockdown at this hour. ..Source.. by TheSouthern.com

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Family: Slain inmate feared guards were going to kill him

The family of an Illinois prison inmate shot and killed after taking an employee hostage says he had long feared that guards were going to have him killed.

Alonje Walton, 37, was convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl in Cook County in 1995. The Illinois Department of Corrections said he was serving time at the Pinckneyville Correctional Center for aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping.

Walton was shot Monday evening after taking a 62-year-old female employee hostage during a nearly seven-hour standoff at the prison, officials said. The employee was rescued.

But his mother and sister said in an interview with WGN Radio this morning that they don't believe the account provided by prison officials and demanded an investigation.

They said they had filed formal complaints earlier this year with state officials after Walton told them in telephone conversationsand by letter that guards were trying to get other inmates to kill him because of the nature of his crime.

"He was calling me crying," said his mother, Rachel Hollimon. "...Mom, these people are trying to kill me," he said.

She said she felt prison officials wanted to keep her son quiet about the threats against him and concocted the story about him holding someone hostage. "They killed my son," she said.

Walton's sister, Lakithia Walton, said her brother had served seven years of a 10-year sentence and would have been released in 2011. She complained that prison officials only told family members that Walton had been involved in a hostage situation and did not tell them them that he had been killed five hours earlier. They said they learned of his death through media reports.

Walton was arrested in 1995 when a news crew riding with Cook County sheriff's police spotted a schoolgirl struggling with Walton, according to officials. The police arrested him. ..Source.. by WGN News

VA- UPDATED: Inmate killed in Pittsylvania County identified

12-18-2008 Virginia:

Virginia State Police are investigating a shooting in Chatham Tuesday night involving a sheriff's deputy and inmate.

The inmate, Cody Nifong, was killed. The officer was shot at least once in the wrist. Authorities say the Pittsylvania County deputy had taken the 24-year-old inmate to Richmond earlier in the day for a medical appointment.

They were driving back to Chatham when the shooting happened, less than a mile from the jail on Main Street. Authorities won't go into specifics but say there was a struggle involved.

The deputy has been with the department for more than 20 years, and is currently on medical leave. The sheriff says he has not been involved in a shooting before.

We're told the inmate had been staying in the Pittsylvania County jail since July for violating probation. According to court records, he was supposed to be sentenced in January for taking indecent liberties with a child.

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UPDATED: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 @ 11:47 a.m.


Virginia State Police are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred Tuesday night in the community of Chatham.

According to a news release, a deputy with the Pittsylvania County Sheriff's office was transporting an inmate back to the county jail after a medical appointment. We're told a struggle then ensued.

The inmate has been identified as Cody Christopher Nifong. He was shot and killed. Virginia State Police are still investigating this incident.

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One person is dead and a Pittsylvania County Sheriff's deputy is in the hospital following a shooting in Chatham.

It happened around 7:15 Tuesday night in the 100 block of Main street.

Investigators believe a fight took place between a deputy and an inmate he was transporting. During the fight, the deputy's gun went off, injuring him in the wrist.

The inmate was then shot and killed. No one else was involved in the shooting.

The injured deputy is being treated for minor injuries at Danville Regional Medical Center.

State Police and the Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Office are investigating the incident. ..News Source.. by WDBJ TV

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Deputy Who Shot And Killed Inmate Cleared

3-3-2009 Virginia:

Salem, VA-- Tuesday, Neil Vener, the Commonwealth Attorney for Virginia send a letter to the Pittsylvania County sheriff's office clearing a deputy who shot and killed an inmate in December 2008.

Deputy Roger Walden was transporting Cody Christopher Nifong from a psychological evaluation visit back to the county jail when the incident happened.

In the newly released details, investigators say Nifong who was sitting in the back of Walden's patrol tried to strangle the deputy while the car was still in motion. They say he did it by freeing one of his hands from handcuffs.

Deputy Walden who was using one hand to stop the cord, was able to use the other hand to get his gun and fire a shot to stop Nifong from strangling him. Walden shot himself in the wrist during the struggle.

Vener ruled that Walden's actions were justified.

Nifong was in jail awaiting sentencing for sexual assault on a 13 year old girl. ..Source.. by Devetta Blount

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VA- Deputy Who Shot And Killed Inmate Cleared

3-2-2009 Virginia:

Salem, VA-- Tuesday, Neil Vener, the Commonwealth Attorney for Virginia send a letter to the Pittsylvania County sheriff's office clearing a deputy who shot and killed an inmate in December 2008.

Deputy Roger Walden was transporting Cody Christopher Nifong from a psychological evaluation visit back to the county jail when the incident happened.

In the newly released details, investigators say Nifong who was sitting in the back of Walden's patrol tried to strangle the deputy while the car was still in motion. They say he did it by freeing one of his hands from handcuffs.

Deputy Walden who was using one hand to stop the cord, was able to use the other hand to get his gun and fire a shot to stop Nifong from strangling him. Walden shot himself in the wrist during the struggle.

Vener ruled that Walden's actions were justified.

Nifong was in jail awaiting sentencing for sexual assault on a 13 year old girl. ..News Source.. by Devetta Blount

Inmate shot dead after taking hostage

7-14-2004 Delaware:

.A convicted serial rapist serving life in prison who took a female counselor hostage this morning was fatally shot inside the Smyrna prison, officials said. State Department of Correction spokeswoman Beth Welch said inmate Scott A. Miller, 45, of Wilmington, was shot to death at 4:55 p.m. by a corrections emergency response team member after he observed the hostage “in imminent danger.”

Welch said the woman who was taken hostage is being attended to by medical personnel. Welch said she did not know if the woman had suffered any injuries during her nearly 6-hour ordeal. ..more.. TERRI SANGINITI and PATRICK JACKSON