SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Three inmates have been charged following an “attempted takeover” at Southern State Correctional Facility last month.
Dakota Gardner, 29, has been charged with aggravated assault and assault on a police officer for the incident, while Arthur Crandall, 43, and Logan Wheeler, 32, have each been charged with a sole count of aggravated assault, according to a news release from Vermont State Police Monday.
The charges stem from an incident at the Springfield prison on Nov. 19, which police dubbed an “attempted unit takeover,” in an earlier release last month. Around 10:15 a.m. an inmate later identified as Gardner attacked corrections officer George Neathawk, 53, while he was working at the prison, according to police. He hit the officer with “several improvised weapons,” before Neathawk and another officer were able to get Gardner under control, police said. Neathawk, who was injured in the incident, was taken to Springfield Hospital where he was treated and released.
Around the same time, Crandall and Wheeler attacked a third inmate, Andrew Reynolds, 28, who was not seriously injured in the assault, according to the release. Police charged Crandall and Wheeler on Monday, after an investigation.
Gardner is being held at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility and Crandall and Wheeler are being held at Northwest State Correctional Facility pending their court appearances at Windsor Superior Court on Dec. 31.