GBI investigating inmate death after use of force at Wheeler Correctional Facility
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says a 35-year-old inmate died after an early-morning incident involving multiple officers in Wheeler County.
ALAMO, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death of an inmate after a use-of-force incident at Wheeler Correctional Facility in Wheeler County.
According to preliminary information, the Georgia Department of Corrections requested the GBI to investigate after 35-year-old inmate Dustin Parham died early Sunday, November 2nd.
Officials said the incident happened around 5:45 a.m., when correctional officers responded to reports of erratic and combative behavior inside a dormitory. Parham was seen near the dormitory doorway armed with a makeshift weapon described as a metal poker made from wire fencing and was behaving abnormally.
According to a news release, as officers tried to stop him from exiting into the control area, they secured Parham in handcuffs through the doorway. Multiple officers were involved in gaining compliance, and OC spray was deployed. While officers attempted to place Parham onto a medical gurney for restraint and evaluation, he became unresponsive. Parham was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured.
The GBI said Parham’s body will be taken to the Coastal Crime Lab in Pooler for an autopsy. Once the investigation is complete, the case file will be turned over to the Oconee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review.
According to state records, Parham was convicted of multiple offenses stemming from crimes committed in 2020.
In Jones County, he was convicted of trafficking methamphetamine for an offense committed on December 4, 2020, and sentenced to 30 years.
In Bibb County, he was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault, also tied to offenses committed on December 4, 2020, each carrying a 12-year sentence.
He was also convicted in Jones County of possession of methamphetamine and possession of marijuana related to offenses on July 17, 2020. Those sentences were three years and five years, respectively.
