Foston, Jeremy Andrew

Tenure Summary

Jeremy Andrew Foston worked as a behavioral health counselor from 2015 through 2018, then moved into a deputy warden role at Hancock State Prison beginning in 2019. Salary records list him as deputy warden there through calendar year 2025; GPS mortality records continue to list his role as deputy warden for deaths dated through July 2026. GPS records attribute 27 deaths at Hancock State Prison to Foston’s deputy warden tenure — all of the deaths attributed in the input — with no leadership-tier deaths attached to his earlier counselor postings. During his Hancock years, the facility was the subject of repeated violence reporting and a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report that, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, described violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run Georgia prisons “fueled by a culture of indifference.” AJC also reported Hancock had a 73.5% correctional officer vacancy rate as of October 2024.

What happened on their watch

At Hancock State Prison, the first attributed death in the record is Cesar Arnold Pastrana, 33, on March 13, 2020; the AJC Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation lists his cause as a stab wound to the chest. Xaysana Thao, 40, died December 20, 2020, in a death GDC coded as natural, according to the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project. In 2021, Rashad Bolton, 29, died January 4 from a puncture wound to the chest; Dwayne Zackery, 22, died February 12 from a stab wound to the chest with a homemade knife; Michael Anthony Brown, 54, died June 26 and was coded natural; Terrill Bernard Howard, 51, died October 17 and was coded undetermined by GDC. In 2022, Charles Tristen McKee, 24, died May 23 after being stabbed 13 times in the back and head, per the AJC; a U.S. DOJ investigation found he tried to escape gang members by jumping through stair railings but was stabbed further. Cleveland Gary was later convicted in McKee’s killing, and the GA DOAS settlement ledger records a $424,710.20 state payout tied to the 2022 death. Also in 2022, Terry Lee Bishop, 49, died October 18 from blunt force trauma with acute methamphetamine and cannabinoid toxicity; Norman Jackson Samples, 59, died December 27 from blunt force injuries of the head and torso; Zackery Phillip Brown, 39, and Antoine Lamar Bush, 32, died that year without narrative cause detail in GPS records.

In 2023, Roland Lamont Phillips, 33, died June 28 from multiple sharp-force injuries, and a murder warrant was served against his cellmate. Francisco Melgar-Saldivar, 26, died August 12 from strangulation and blunt force injuries; an AJC-reported claim alleged he was not provided appropriate medical care after being attacked. Timothy Dale Hicks, 37, died August 22 without narrative cause detail. In 2024, Travon Montrell Walthour, 29, was stabbed to death October 13; GDC incident report data said four other prisoners were involved. Ralph Thompson, 53, died October 8 without narrative cause detail. In January 2025, William Holeman and Prince Porter were found dead in the same dorm after gang-related violence. Corey Jose July, 34, was stabbed June 17, 2025, in the prison yard; a Hancock County jury later convicted Vershaun Smith of malice murder. Andre Rashad Weems, 36, died September 9, 2025; Brian Smith, 30, and John T. Childree, 60, also died that year. In 2026, five Hancock inmates were stabbed with shanks on January 12 and two were airlifted. Steven Monroe Wood, 54, died January 25 after an altercation in his cell; Jaylin Bell, 32, died February 6 after an altercation with his roommate; Jerrod Johnson, 27, was fatally stabbed February 18; Jacorey Derrelle Pearson, 36, died April 7; Albert Chapa, 57, died July 30.

Litigation

• Spradlin v. Toby, No. 5:23-cv-00328, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, filed August 29, 2023. GPS records list the case as pending; no disposition, outcome amount, or allegation summary appears in the provided data.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation; reports on Hancock staffing vacancies, gang violence, and the 2024 DOJ report.
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on Georgia prison conditions and investigation into Charles McKee’s death, as cited in GPS records.
• 41NBC/WMGT, 13WMAZ, Union-Recorder, FOX 5, WGXA — Hancock State Prison death and prosecution reporting.
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger — $424,710.20 payout tied to a 2022 Hancock State Prison death record.
• UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project custodial mortality dataset — GDC cause coding for 2015–2021 deaths.
• CourtListener — Spradlin v. Toby docket, Middle District of Georgia.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 30, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.