1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Fawn E. Thomas, Public Affairs Specialist

 

May 6, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Six Inmates at USP Hazelton Indicted
In Conjunction with Project Safe Prisons

CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — Six inmates from United States Penitentiary Hazelton were named in three separate Indictments returned on May 5, 2009, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

United States Attorney Sharon L. Potter announced that:

MARCUS A. MARTIN, age 25; JAMES JOVAN, age 29; LANCE ERIC APPLEWHITE, age 27; and HERBERT ROBINSON, age 27, were named in a two-count Indictment. The Indictment alleges that MARTIN, JOVAN, APPLEWHITE, and ROBINSON assaulted two individuals with a dangerous weapon with the intent to do bodily harm on September 14, 2008, at USP Hazelton. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on each count.

ANDRE GANEOUS, age 48, was named in a two-count Indictment. Count One of the Indictment alleges that GANEOUS threw and poured a scalding liquid containing water and a caustic substance on a person at USP Hazelton with the intent to torture, maim, and disfigure the person on October 7, 2008. Count Two of the Indictment alleges that GANEOUS assaulted a person with a dangerous weapon on October 7, 2008. If convicted, GANEOUS faces a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on Count One; and a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000 on Count Two.

ADRIAN ELLIS, age 34, was named in a one-count Indictment. The Indictment alleges that ELLIS possessed an object that was designed and intended to be used as a weapon on October 11, 2008, at USP Hazelton. If convicted, ELLIS faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

These cases were brought as part of Project Safe Prisons, an initiative focused on prosecutions to secure a safe prison environment. The cases will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David E. Godwin. The cases were investigated by the Special Investigative Services at USP Hazelton and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictments are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.