Inmate pleads guilty to possessing weapon at FCI Beckley

BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) - Quordell Tarver, 24, an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Beckley, pleaded guilty on Friday to possession of a weapon by an inmate of a federal prison.

According to U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson on October 22, 2022, an FCI Beckley staff member conducted a visual search of Tarver and found a handcrafted weapon commonly known as a “shank” in Tarver’s underwear. The shank was a piece of metal, approximately 5 inches long, sharpened to a point at one end and with a piece of white shoelace wrapped around the base as a handle.

Tarver is scheduled to be sentenced on September 22, 2023, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy D. Boggess is prosecuting the case.