Jester, Teketa

Tenure Summary

Teketa Jester's GDC career spans more than two decades. She began as a Sergeant at West Central Integrated Treatment Facility in 2003 and returned there as a correctional officer in 2015, then rose through the ranks — CSM Correctional Captain in 2016, CSM Correctional Unit Manager from 2017 through 2020, and Deputy Warden in 2021 and 2022. In the first half of 2023 she held two deputy posts, then moved into facility leadership. She is listed as active.

GPS's death registry attributes 43 deaths to her leadership tenures: 19 at Baldwin State Prison, 14 at Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison, and 10 at Central State Prison. GPS's records list no lawsuit naming Jester as a defendant; the suits filed during her tenures name correctional officers and lieutenants at the facilities she led.

What happened on their watch

Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security, January 1 – June 30, 2023

Central State Prison — Deputy Warden (January 1 – June 30, 2023); Warden (July 1, 2023 – December 15, 2024)

• Joseph W Akins died December 25, 2023, at Central State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 66.
• Adel Eackles died February 10, 2024, at Central State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 64.
• Deanthony Terrell Fleming died February 14, 2024, at Central State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 37.
• Jeremiah Eugene Taylor died April 21, 2024, at Central State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 41.
• Thomas Dewayne Kiker died June 22, 2024, at Central State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 49.
• Anthony Le Ray Baugher died October 26, 2024, at Central State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 68.
• Leon Culver Kelly died December 9, 2024, at Central State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 47.

Baldwin State Prison — WARDEN 1 (January 1 – November 15, 2024) and Warden (November 16, 2024 – September 5, 2026)

• Al Mir Harris died December 31, 2024, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 23.
• Henry Finley died January 19, 2025, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Homicide.
• Walter Brown died January 22, 2025, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending.
• Mark Tyrone Miller died February 7, 2025, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 62.
• Douglas Jerome Salter died March 27, 2025, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 87.
• Cedric Phillips died September 14, 2025, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 48.
• Jack Eubanks died October 24, 2025, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 73.
• Isaac Evan Robinson died January 2, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 41.
• Melvin A Greene died January 15, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 80.
• Leroy Keye died March 4, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 71.
• Ronald Gene Mcghee died March 21, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 66.
• Derek Oneal Boyd died March 21, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 68.
• Ricky Carroll Mathis died April 5, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Homicide, age 38. GDC's Office of Professional Standards opened an investigation as standard procedure and the body was sent to the GBI crime lab, per GPS event records.
• James Monroe Dailey died May 10, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 64.
• Richard Lyle Timmons died May 19, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 37.
• Artinez Rafael Ceaser died July 3, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 35.
• Terry Lee Goolsby died July 15, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Unknown/Pending, age 45.
• Edward Allen Pitt died July 24, 2026, at Baldwin State Prison; registry cause Natural/Medical, age 65.

Additional allegations and incidents during this tenure, per the sources named: a 13WMAZ report dated August 24, 2026 describes a federal lawsuit by Gary Moore, filed April 13, 2026 in the Middle District of Georgia, accusing four Baldwin officers of failing to protect Vincent Dyer from a fatal stabbing; it alleges Dyer reported threats and asked to be moved shortly before his death, an officer allowed inmates into his dormitory, officers did not respond during or after the attack, and logbook entries failed to accurately document it. A Baldwin County jury convicted Traquan Bangs of malice murder in May and sentenced him to life without parole plus five years, per GPS records. An April 21, 2026 13WMAZ report describes a lawsuit filed in February by inmate Akeim Burgest alleging an officer threw a water bottle at him, then returned with a shank and stabbed him while a lieutenant watched without intervening; a federal judge ordered GDC to preserve all records, including camera footage. A January 28, 2026 AJC report alleged Lieutenant Tracey Wise admitted smuggling K-2-laced papers for Bloods gang member Ryan Brandt three times at $2,500 each. AJC reporting dated January 21, 2025 alleged Jamari McClinton's protective custody status was removed on transfer from Phillips State Prison, leaving him vulnerable to gang threats that led to his death, and that a lawsuit alleges Joshua Emanuel Williams was negligently placed in a cell with an inmate who had previously stabbed other inmates. A GPS intel submission dated July 9, 2026 reports a stabbing at Baldwin in which other incarcerated people transported the victim to medical care while staff, including the warden, did not intervene, and the facility was placed on lockdown. GPS event records also describe a 33-year-old inmate found dead alone in his cell, pronounced around 7 p.m. on a Friday with the time of death determined several hours earlier, with the Baldwin County Coroner's Office and GDC's Professional Standards Office investigating and an autopsy scheduled at the GBI Crime Lab.

Litigation

• Gary Moore v. four Baldwin State Prison correctional officers — federal lawsuit filed April 13, 2026 in the Middle District of Georgia, alleging failure to protect Vincent Dyer from a fatal stabbing. A federal judge later ordered GDC to preserve all records, including camera footage. Jester is not listed as a defendant.
• Akeim Burgest v. Baldwin State Prison officer and lieutenant — filed February 2026; alleges an officer shanked Burgest after throwing a water bottle at him while a lieutenant stood by and watched. Jester is not listed as a defendant.
• Lawsuit by the mother of Joshua Emanuel Williams — recorded January 21, 2025; alleges negligent cell placement with an inmate who had previously stabbed other inmates. Jester is not listed as a defendant.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Baldwin State Prison protective-custody and cell-placement allegations (January 21, 2025); K-2 smuggling admission by a Baldwin lieutenant (January 28, 2026)
• 13WMAZ — Vincent Dyer failure-to-protect lawsuit (August 24, 2026) and Akeim Burgest shanking lawsuit (April 21, 2026)
• Georgia Public Broadcasting — December 27, 2023 report on deaths, staffing shortages and gang control in Georgia prisons
• GPS death registry and intel records — death dates, ages, facility attribution, and the July 9, 2026 Baldwin lockdown submission
• GPS event records — GDC Office of Professional Standards and GBI investigations, federal evidence-preservation order, and the Traquan Bangs conviction

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Oct 11, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.