Foston, Jeremy Andrew

Tenure Summary

Jeremy Andrew Foston's state salary records place him in GDC clinical ranks from 2015 — Behavioral Health Counselor ($32,998.08), then Behavioral Health Counselor 3 in 2016 and Behavioral Health Counselor Supervisor in 2017–2018 — before he moved into custody leadership as Deputy Warden at Hancock State Prison, a title the records show him holding in each year from 2019 through 2025, most recently at $74,133.60. Records dated into 2026 continue to list him in the Deputy Warden role at Hancock.

All 22 deaths attributed to his leadership tenure occurred at Hancock State Prison, per GPS's death registry: 13 listed as homicides, 2 suicides, 3 natural/medical, 1 other and 3 unknown/pending. The state's liability ledger (GA DOAS Risk Management, obtained through Open Records) shows three payouts tied to Hancock deaths during this period: $600,000 (2019 incident), $437,500 (2021) and $424,710.20 (2022). A federal lawsuit, Spradlin v. Toby, filed in 2023, lists him as a defendant and remains pending.

What happened on their watch

Hancock State Prison — Deputy Warden (2019–2025, per salary records; continuing into 2026 per facility records). The deaths on this watch are dominated by knife and blunt-force killings inside the dormitories and yard. Registry entries describe Roland Lamont Phillips dying of multiple sharp-force injuries and Charles Tristen Mckee being stabbed 13 times in the back and head — the U.S. Department of Justice investigation found McKee jumped through stair railings trying to escape gang members who kept stabbing him below, per the AJC. The AJC reported that Cleveland Gary was convicted in January 2025 of killing McKee with a 17-inch homemade machete. A claim filed against the state alleges Francisco Zaldivar Melgar-Saldivar was not given appropriate medical care after being attacked by another prisoner; a lawsuit by Rashad Bolton's parents claims he was stabbed to death; the AJC reported officials placed Amanuel Selassie Geberyesus in a regular cell contrary to a counselor's advice after he expressed suicidal thoughts, and he subsequently hanged himself.

On January 30, 2025, gang-related violence left William Holeman and Prince Porter dead in the same dorm, 15–20 feet apart, with a third prisoner hospitalized, per the AJC. The AJC reported in January 2025 that 73.5% of correctional officer posts at Hancock were vacant as of October 2024 — 49 officers for over 1,100 prisoners — and that consultants found vacancies at 20 of Georgia's 34 prisons at "emergency levels," with broken cell locks. That reporting followed a 2024 DOJ report describing violence, sexual assaults and gang-run prisons in Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp proposed $600 million in staffing and infrastructure spending in response. Facility records also document a January 12, 2026 incident in which five inmates were stabbed and two airlifted, a September 2026 tactical operation involving roughly 100 officers, and a 2026 report of the IRT using force against a person suspected of possessing a weapon. The GDC's Office of Professional Standards opened investigations into the 2026 deaths of Steven Wood, Jaylin Bell and Jacorey Pearson.

Deaths recorded during this tenure at Hancock State Prison, per GPS's death registry:

• Cesar Arnold Pastrana died March 13, 2020, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 33.
• Xaysana Thao died December 20, 2020, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Natural/Medical, age 40.
• Rashad Bolton died January 4, 2021, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 29.
• Dwayne Zackery died February 12, 2021, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 22.
• Michael Anthony Brown died June 26, 2021, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Natural/Medical, age 54.
• Terrill Bernard Howard died October 17, 2021, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Other, age 51.
• Charles Tristen Mckee died May 23, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 24.
• Antione Lamar Bush died June 18, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Natural/Medical, age 32.
• Terry Lee Bishop died October 18, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 49.
• Zackery Phillip Brown died December 23, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Suicide, age 39.
• Norman Jackson Samples died December 27, 2022, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 59.
• Roland Lamont Phillips died June 28, 2023, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 33.
• Francisco Melgar-Saldivar died August 12, 2023, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 26.
• Timothy Dale Hicks died August 22, 2023, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Suicide, age 37.
• Ralph Thompson died October 8, 2024, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 53.
• Travon Montrell Walthour died October 13, 2024, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 29.
• William Holeman died January 30, 2025, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide.
• Prince Porter died January 30, 2025, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide.
• John T Childree died April 9, 2025, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 60.
• Corey Jose July died June 17, 2025, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 33.
• Brian Smith died July 24, 2025, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 30.
• Andre Rashad Weems died September 9, 2025, at Hancock State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 36.

Litigation

• Spradlin v. Toby, No. 5:23-cv-00328 (court listed as GAMD), filed August 29, 2023; status pending, no outcome amount recorded. Foston is listed as a defendant, per the CourtListener docket.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — gang-related deaths at Hancock, the McKee and Melgar-Saldivar claims, the Bolton lawsuit, the Selassie account, 73.5% officer vacancy and consultants' staffing findings (2025).
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 findings on violence, sexual assault and gang-run prisons; DOJ investigation of McKee's death.
• 41NBC — reporting on Corey July's stabbing and the Jaylin Bell death.
• WGXA — trial coverage of Vershaun Smith's malice-murder conviction for July's killing.
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (Open Records) — $600,000, $437,500 and $424,710.20 payouts tied to Hancock.
• CourtListener docket — Spradlin v. Toby, 5:23-cv-00328.
• GDC Office of Professional Standards — 2026 death investigations at Hancock; GDC incident report data.
• GPS death registry and case submissions — decedent records and facility incident reports.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Nov 1, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.