A former inmate of Lemon Creek Correctional Center provided vivid testimony about a riot in E Dorm in October 2015 that reportedly caused more than $6,000 in damage.
Willie Neal was on the stand Thursday during the third day of a trial on felony rioting and criminal mischief for Justin Thomerson, one of the eight men charged in connection with the Oct. 5, 2015 incident.
Neal described a scene where tensions had been building over changes to the phone system used by inmates that caused a jump in billing rates.
“That caused a lot of commotion,” he said. “People became more angry.”
He cast the blame for the incident on one inmate in particular, telling the jury that Thomerson had done his best to dissuade the instigator from violence. Neal also testified that during the hours-long buildup to destruction of the dorm, correctional officers made no contact with the inmates inside.
That night, Neal had been at the law library and was being taken back to the dorm when another inmate slipped out of the dorm and refused to come back inside until a correctional officer called for backup.
Neal gave the jury his first-hand perspective of that incident, which was followed by a conversation around a table that eventually drew the participation of almost the entire population of the dorm.
According to Neal, he initially became involved in the conversation because he had heard that a threat had been made, that an unnamed inmate would be “getting his head busted” if he did not participate in a planned action.
“You have to respond to that because you could die,” he said. “I’ve seen people die in prison.”
As it turned out, Neal said, the inmate who had made that statement was not referring to him.
Neal said that both he and Thomerson argued against making any kind of physical protest.
“My question was, why do you want to respond in this manner, you should respond in a litigated manner,” Neal recalled, adding that the inmate who was advocating for the riot was irate and reacting with the “mentality of a child.”
“The conversation went on and on,” Neal said, explaining that Thomerson was pointing to a document about a class action lawsuit regarding the phone system.
“He was trying to convey this is the way we should go,” he said. “He was trying to tell (him), let’s go about this in a different way. … We were trying to get him to see that his actions were not going to amount to anything.”
Thomerson grew “flustered” about his lack of success, Neal said, eventually putting his hands on top of his head and walking away from the table.
Neal said he was surprised at the delay in action by the guards, saying the dorm was a “powder keg waiting to happen.”
Under questioning by Thomerson’s attorney, Gregory Parvin, Neal said the inmate instigating the riot had enough influence to force other dorm mates to participate in the riot under duress.
“When you’te intimidated then you tend to do what that person wants you to do, to stop you from getting hurt,” he said. “The main thing is you want to survive, when you fear for your life you’ll do anything.”
According to Neal, many of the conversations in the dorm leading up to the riot were fear-based.
“Anyone in their right mind would be concerned,” he said. “I know where this is going to lead, that was some of the concern.”
Neal also testified as to what happened inside E dorm after inmates covered up the cameras, including pulling a bolted-down toilet from the ground and pouring soapy water on the floor. He said he did not see Thomerson participate in those acts.
During cross-examination, Assistant District Attorney Amy Paige asked Neal why he agreed that a trooper was heading in the right direction by identifying Thomerson and two other inmates as the primary instigators of the riot.
“Right direction is different from right?” Parvin asked Neal, who agreed.
Neal also defended his decision not to intervene or alert authorities, saying, “That would be the end of my life, that’s snitching and I would get stabbed – or go to the (protective custody) yard. It’s that serious.”
Other testimony Thursday was primarily provided by then-Assistant Superintendent Robert Cordle, who had been called in to LCCC on the night of the riot.
He testified that he watched the video feed and was able to identify Thomerson helping to move a table in front of the door. He said he also identified Thomerson as having rammed the window three or four times.
Cordle said there was a very real concern that they needed to regain control of the dorm so they didn’t lose control of the whole prison.
He told the jury that the prison staff had planned to try to de-escalate the situation until they saw the inmates start to “prep for war” — putting on bandanas, soaking towels and filling up bottles.
Thomerson’s trial will resume Monday.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
Justin Thomerson listens to Judge Philip Pallenberg during the third day of his trial on riot charges in Juneau Superior Court Thursday morning, Aug. 4, 2017. (Liz Kellar | Juneau Empire)
