Home › Intelligence › Personnel Accountability › Cofield, Desmond J
Cofield, Desmond J
Status: active
Profile written August 30, 2026
Salary
$76,330
2025 · state payroll
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Desmond J. Cofield’s GDC record begins with staff-level posts at Charles D. Hudson Transitional Center from 2005 through 2016, including correctional officer and sergeant roles. He moved to Rutledge State Prison as a correctional officer in 2017 and sergeant in 2018–2019, then held lieutenant and captain posts in 2020–2022 with no facility recorded. By 2023, he had entered facility-deputy roles: assistant superintendent at Metro Reinvestment Center, a one-day assistant superintendent posting at Metro Reentry Facility, assistant superintendent at Rutledge State Prison in 2024–2025, and Deputy Warden of Security/Deputy Warden at Rutledge from January 2026. GPS records attribute 10 deaths to his facility-deputy tenures, all at Rutledge State Prison. His structured record lists no lawsuits naming him as a defendant.What happened on their watch
Metro Reinvestment Center / Metro Reentry Facility (2023)
Cofield held assistant superintendent roles at Metro Reinvestment Center and a one-day Metro Reentry Facility posting in November 2023. GPS records show no deaths attributed to either Metro posting.Rutledge State Prison — Correctional Assistant Superintendent (2024–2025)
During this posting, GPS records list deaths of Leroy House, 68, on Jan 3 2024; Anthony Antonio Hand, 52, on Jan 28 2024; Venteris Leon Hobson, 58, on July 7 2024; Tony Jeromy Reddish, 45, on Sept 28 2024; Joe Payne, 73, on Dec 29 2024; William Edward Houston, 75, on Apr 10 2025; Alan Thomas Bryant, 46, on June 1 2025; and Brandon Keith Bolden, 37, on June 15 2025. Hobson’s death is documented as an inmate-to-inmate assault homicide, per the AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation. Bolden’s cause note lists homicide. Bryant’s record lists natural causes. The other listed deaths do not include a narrative cause in the provided extract.In January 2025, a lawsuit was filed over the 2021 death of Curtis Mincey at Rutledge State Prison; according to the AJC, Mincey’s sister alleged he suffered from mental illness and did not receive appropriate medical or psychological assistance. The record does not name Cofield as a defendant. A GA DOAS settlement ledger entry shows a $20,000 state liability payout to Amber Brejae Walker tied to a 2024 Rutledge incident, without naming Cofield.
Rutledge State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security / Deputy Warden (2026)
After Cofield became Deputy Warden of Security on Jan 16 2026, the provided death records list Jonathan Lloyd Myers, 38, on May 3 2026, and Alterek Mance Dockery, 49, on June 14 2026; both are recorded with cause category 6 and no further cause detail. On March 17 2026, a federal judge denied a motion to dismiss in Buttrum v. Herring, a juvenile-lifer parole challenge tied to Rutledge State Prison; the record does not name Cofield. Separate AJC reporting on Operation Skyhawk alleged that a sergeant at Rutledge admitted to smuggling cellphones, chargers, tobacco and food for money; no allegation names Cofield.Litigation
- No lawsuit in the structured record names Cofield as a defendant.
- Buttrum v. Herring — March 17 2026, federal court; motion to dismiss denied; Eighth Amendment challenge to Georgia’s juvenile lifer parole process, tied to Rutledge State Prison. Not a ruling against Cofield.
- Curtis Mincey death lawsuit — filed Jan 21 2025 per GPS intel records; the family alleged mental illness and lack of appropriate care. Defendant not identified in the provided record.
Sources
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation (Hobson homicide record; Mincey mental-health allegation)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Operation Skyhawk contraband reporting (sergeant Hall allegation)
- GPS records — GDC positions, deaths, and facility mappings
- GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger via GPS intel events (Walker settlement)
- Federal court records via GPS intel events (Buttrum v. Herring)
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Warden | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2026-08-27 → present |
| Deputy Warden of Security | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2026-01-16 → present |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → present |
| Correctional Asst. Supt | METRO REENTRY FACILITY | 2023-11-22 → 2023-11-22 |
| CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT | METRO REINVESTMENT CENTER | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL CAPTAIN | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL LIEUTENANT | 2020-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | |
| CORRECTIONAL SERGEANT | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2018-01-01 → 2019-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONAL OFC 1 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2017-12-31 |
| CORRECTIONS OFFICER (SP) | CHARLES D. HUDSON TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2015-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| Sergeant | CHARLES D. HUDSON TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2009-01-01 → 2009-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | CHARLES D. HUDSON TRANSITIONAL CENTER | 2005-01-01 → 2005-12-31 |
Deaths attributed during tenure
10 people died at facilities under Cofield, Desmond J's leadership.
| Date | Decedent | Age | Facility | Role at time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-14 | ALTEREK MANCE DOCKERY | 49 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2026-05-03 | JONATHAN LLOYD MYERS | 38 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | Deputy Warden of Security |
| 2025-06-15 | BRANDON KEITH BOLDEN | 37 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT |
| 2025-06-01 | ALAN THOMAS BRYANT | 46 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT |
| 2025-04-10 | WILLIAM EDWARD HOUSTON | 75 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT |
| 2024-12-29 | JOE PAYNE | 73 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT |
| 2024-09-28 | TONY JEROMY REDDISH | 45 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT |
| 2024-07-07 | VENTERIS LEON HOBSON | 58 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT |
| 2024-01-28 | ANTHONY ANTONIO HAND | 52 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT |
| 2024-01-03 | LEROY HOUSE | 68 | RUTLEDGE STATE PRISON | CORRECTIONAL ASST. SUPT |
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