Rash of prison killings forces Nevada officials to take action

Two Southern Nevada detention centers have beefed up surveillance after four inmates, all under the age of 40, were found dead at the facilities in the past month in homicides possibly related to drug debts, prison officials said.

According to a news release from the Nevada Department of Corrections, three inmate deaths have been reported at High Desert State Prison between July 16 and Aug. 6.

Jacob Herman, 35, died at the prison on July 16 while Jordan Canteberry, 34, was pronounced dead at High Desert 10 days later.

The department reported Tuesday that Dmarea Wallace, 18, died at the prison on Aug. 6. Officials said Ryan Warren-Hunt, 35, died at Southern Desert Correction Center on Monday.

All of the deaths are being investigated as homicides, the department said. High Desert and Southern Desert are located in Indian Springs, about 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Corrections officials said the deaths all happened in different housing units and that they “appear unrelated,” according to the news release.

The officials “suspect drug debt is an exacerbating factor” in the deaths, the release said. Beginning Tuesday, surveillance and “staff operations” were increased to “reduce the number of offenders outside their cells at one time,” the release said.

James Dzurenda, director of the NDOC, said “outside experts” are being consulted to help determine ways to “curtail the influx of contraband and illegal substances” that come into the prisons.

He said a “variety of committees are being formed” to address the issues, according to the release.

“We can’t rely on our traditional operation plans alone,” Dzurenda said. “We have to do something that’s unique. We need to get creative in bringing in different perspectives and attack this problem from all angles. This is our top priority.”

In addition to the above deaths, the department reported in a separate news release that Ronnie Owens, 32, was pronounced dead at High Desert on Friday. The department said an autopsy was requested in that case.

Also, Margaret Forsberg, 68, was pronounced dead at Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in Las Vegas on July 9, according to the department.

Forsberg was serving a sentence of up to 25 years after being convicted of shooting her husband in 2023.

A department official did not immediately respond Tuesday afternoon to a message from the Las Vegas Review-Journal requesting an interview with Dzurenda.

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.