By Ted Clifford
The State
CHARLESTON, S.C. —Four inmates have been charged in a violent attack facilitated by a jail guard inside of the Charleston County Detention Center, the State Law Enforcement Division said.
The four men stormed the cell of another inmate after detention center officer Shannon Cherise Burden remotely opened the cell doors, according to an affidavit released by SLED. The attackers were trying to force the victim to “behave himself” after he “upset” Burden, the affidavit said.
The inmates, Daniel Shakim Mobley, 23, Kamal G. Geathers, 20, Donald Lee White, Jr., 22 and Jaquez Quincy Lawrence, 22, were charged Thursday with second-degree assault and battery by mob, SLED announced.
At the time of the attack, Mobley, Geathers, White, and Lawrence were inmates at the Al Canon Detention center in Charleston.
On Sept. 13, Burden remotely unlocked Mobley and Lawrence’s cell doors, according to the affidavit. At the time, court records show that Lawrence was in jail following murder and attempted murder charges.
The two men then met up with White and Geathers, who were trustees, a position that typically gives inmates greater freedom to move around a jail or prison. Burden then remotely unlocked an unnamed victim’s cell allowing Mobley, White, and Lawrence to storm inside.
The three men then punched and kicked the unnamed victim in the body and the head, according to affidavits released Friday. Geathers, who was in jail following an arrest on robbery charges, stood watch.
The violent attack was caught on CCTV cameras, and affidavits said that jail staff later identified the inmates.
In addition to the new charge of mob assault, White has a pending case with charges including domestic violence, carjacking, kidnapping and resisting arrest. Mobley was in jail for failure to stop for blue lights and weapons charges.
Mobley, Geathers, White, and Lawrence remain at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center on prior charges.
Burden was booked at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center on Sept. 15.
The case will be prosecuted by the 9th Circuit Solicitors Office.
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