Another former staff member of Waupun Correctional Institution charged in connection with a death at the prison has had criminal charges dropped.
Tanner Leopold, 29, is now the fourth of nine former prison staffers charged with felonies in June 2024 to have his case entirely dismissed by a judge.
Leopold, a former correctional sergeant, was charged in June 2024 with abuse of residents of penal facilities in connection with the October 2023 in-custody death of 24-year-old Cameron Williams, who died of a rare stroke.
The charge was dropped May 19 – a week after a judge dismissed charges against former Waupun Correctional Nurse Gwendolyn Vick at her court trial.
Court records say Dodge County District Attorney Andrea Will filed a motion to dismiss Leopold’s case because Leopold provided truthful testimony against Vick at her trial.
It’s been nearly two years since nine staff members at Waupun Correctional Institution were arrested and charged in connection with the deaths of two prisoners: Williams, and Donald Maier, who died of dehydration and probable malnutrition in February 2024, after staff members periodically turned his water access off and were aware he was skipping meals, but did not properly document either.
At the time of the arrests, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt gave scathing remarks about Waupun Correctional Institution’s treatment of prisoners. Now, four of the staffers charged have had the cases against them dismissed, and four – including former warden Randall Hepp – have entered pleas to low-level misdemeanors.
Of those, Hepp has received the heftiest punishment: a $500 fine.
What was Leopold accused of?
Leopold and Vick are among three former Waupun Correctional Institution staff members who were charged in June 2024 in connection with Williams’ death. The third was Correctional Lieutenant Brandon Fisher.
In October 2023, Williams was housed in a solitary cell at Waupun Correctional Institution’s restrictive housing unit, an area of the prison that typically holds prisoners who pose a safety risk in general population, either to themselves or others.
Williams had been in and out of jail, prison, supervised living facilities and mental health facilities for much of his adult life. At the time of his death, he was serving time for charges related to a burglary and had pending charges for assaulting correctional staff.
About a week before his death, Williams started having stomachaches and vomited blood, another prisoner who knew Williams and his family previously told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Former correctional officers who interacted with Williams in the days before his death testified at Vick’s trial that Williams was reporting stomach and chest pains. On the afternoon before his death, Williams had labored breathing and was not responding to officers trying to speak to him at his door, one former officer said.
That former officer testified that she shared her observations of Williams with Leopold, the sergeant on duty in the restrictive housing unit at the time.
According to a criminal complaint, Leopold told investigators he checked on Williams after learning of the concerns. When he was not able to get a response from Williams, Leopold called his supervisor, Fisher. During that conversation, Leopold and Fisher determined that they would get input from health services before making a cell entry.
That evening, around 5:15 p.m., Leopold and the on-duty nurse checked on Williams at his cell door. That nurse, who had recently seen Williams for his health concerns, noted that Williams was breathing but not responding. She agreed a cell entry should be conducted.
However, because it was the end of her shift and Leopold said it would be “a little bit” before staff would be able to enter Williams’ cell, the nurse decided to leave but notify Vick, the nurse coming in to take her place.
According to the complaint, Vick spoke to Leopold at the start of her shift and suggested they wait longer to conduct a cell entry because Williams had a history of lying on the floor and refusing to get up.
As a result, no cell entry was conducted. Williams was found dead in his cell the next morning.
The Dodge County Medical Examiner determined Williams died of a stroke caused by multiple blood clots in his brain.
One former staffer case remains ongoing, while two staffers await sentencing
With the dismissal of Leopold’s case, only three cases against former Waupun Correctional staffers remain open. Fisher awaits sentencing May 29, after pleading no contest in February to two misdemeanors – one in connection with Williams’ death, and one in connection with Maier’s death.
Former Correctional Officer Jamall Russell pleaded no contest in March to three misdemeanors, all connected to Maier’s death, and also awaits sentencing. A date has not yet been set for his sentencing hearing, but he has an upcoming telephone scheduling conference June 22.
Just one former staffer charged in June 2024 has an open case without a conviction. Jessica Hosfelt, a former correctional nurse, is charged with abuse of residents of penal facilities in connection with Maier’s death. She has a telephone scheduling conference July 2.
The rest of the nine staffers, who were all originally charged with felonies, have had their cases closed, with the following outcomes:
Contact Kelli Arseneau at (920) 213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Another former Waupun staffer gets case related to prisoner death dropped
Reporting by Kelli Arseneau, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
