Beland, Ryan

Tenure Summary

What happened on their watch

Helms Facility (2022, Correctional Asst. Supt.)
While Beland was the assistant superintendent at Helms, three men died in custody. Mitchell Lebron Dunn (60) died on January 26, 2022; Kenneth Clyde (65) on February 25; and Walton Jerome Thomas (56) on June 26. GPS records list all three deaths under cause category 6, a designation that does not detail the official cause. No lawsuits or public allegations surfaced against Beland in connection with these deaths.

Rutledge State Prison (2024–present, Superintendent/Warden)
Beland assumed the top leadership role at Rutledge in January 2024. That year, four prisoners died: Leroy House (68) on January 3, Anthony Antonio Hand (52) on January 28, Venteris Leon Hobson (58) on July 7, and Tony Jeromy Reddish (45) on September 28. Per the AJC’s investigation, Hobson’s death was a homicide caused by an inmate-to-inmate assault; a coroner told a TV station that he was found dead in his cell after a fight with his cellmate. House, Hand, and Reddish are classified as category 6 in GPS records. After Beland became Warden in early 2025, three more deaths occurred: William Edward Houston (75) on April 10 (category 6), Alan Thomas Bryant (46) on June 1 (natural causes, per GPS notes), and Brandon Keith Bolden (37) on June 15 (homicide).
During Beland’s time at Rutledge, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a contraband smuggling scheme was uncovered at the prison. Sergeant Erika Shonquandria Hall allegedly admitted to providing prisoners with cellphones, tobacco, and other items in exchange for money on multiple occasions, according to the AJC. Separately, a lawsuit filed in January 2025 by the sister of Curtis Mincey—who died at Rutledge in 2021—alleged that the facility failed to provide appropriate medical or psychological assistance. While the alleged neglect predates Beland’s leadership, the suit was filed while he served as Warden and highlights long-running concerns about care at the prison.

Litigation

• Curtis Mincey family lawsuit (filed Jan. 21, 2025): Mincey’s sister alleges that Rutledge State Prison did not give Mincey adequate medical or psychological help before his 2021 death. Beland is not named as a defendant, but the claim pertains to facility conditions during his tenure as Warden.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — investigation into Georgia prison homicides, including Venteris Leon Hobson’s death at Rutledge State Prison
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — reporting on Operation Skyhawk contraband scheme involving Sergeant Hall at Rutledge State Prison
• GPS intelligence database — personnel career records, death records for all 10 decedents, and facility-associated event logs

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on May 31, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.