Mahoney, Tamikia Nicole

Tenure Summary

Tamikia Nicole Mahoney entered the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2006 as a correctional officer at Wilkes County Prison. She later held counselor and program roles, including Chief Counselor at Hancock State Prison in 2013 and behavioral health counselor posts in 2015–2016. GPS records place her in facility leadership from 2017 onward: unit manager at Hancock State Prison in 2017 and at Augusta Transitional Center in 2018, then Correctional Assistant Superintendent at Hancock from 2019 through August 2024. She is recorded as Deputy Warden of Security at Hancock beginning September 1, 2024, as Deputy Warden at Augusta Transitional Center in 2025, and in a Deputy Warden record at Hancock dated August 27, 2026.

Across these leadership postings, GPS records attribute 28 deaths to facilities where Mahoney held a facility-deputy role: 27 at Hancock State Prison and 1 at Augusta Transitional Center. No lawsuits naming Mahoney as a defendant appear in the provided records.

What happened on their watch

Hancock State Prison — Correctional Assistant Superintendent (2019–Aug 2024)

GPS records attribute multiple deaths during this period. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s homicide investigation, documented causes included: Rashad Bolton, 29, puncture wound to the chest on January 4, 2021; Dwayne Zackery, 22, stab wound to the chest with a homemade knife on February 12, 2021; Charles “Tristen” McKee, 24, stabbed 13 times in the back and head on May 23, 2022; Terry Lee Bishop, 49, blunt force trauma with acute toxicity of methamphetamine and cannabinoids on October 18, 2022; Norman Jackson Samples, 59, blunt force injuries of the head and torso on December 27, 2022; Roland Lamont Phillips, 33, multiple sharp-force injuries on June 28, 2023; and Francisco Melgar-Saldivar, 26, strangulation and blunt force injuries on August 12, 2023.

A murder warrant was served against Phillips’s cellmate, per GPS records. The U.S. Department of Justice investigation found that McKee tried to escape gang members by jumping through stair railings before being stabbed again; an AJC-reported lawsuit alleged McKee had been placed in a dorm with gang members hostile to LGBTQ inmates, and that staff failed to act on his repeated requests to move. A claim filed against the state alleged Melgar-Saldivar was not provided appropriate medical care after being attacked. AJC reporting also referenced a 2019 Hancock suicide: Amanuel Selassie Geberyesus was allegedly placed in a regular cell contrary to a counselor’s advice after expressing suicidal thoughts and hung himself.

AJC coverage tied Hancock to broader systemic problems: a 2024 DOJ report described violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run prisons fueled by a culture of indifference; Hancock had a 73.5% correctional officer vacancy rate as of October 2024, leaving 49 officers for over 1,100 prisoners.

Hancock State Prison — Deputy Warden of Security (Sept 2024–present)

Under this posting, GPS records include Travon Montrell Walthour, 29, killed October 13, 2024; GDC incident data indicated four other prisoners were involved. On January 30, 2025, William Holeman and Prince Porter were found dead in the same dorm after gang-related violence; the GDC’s January 2025 mortality data coded both deaths as homicides. On June 17, 2025, Corey July was fatally stabbed in the prison yard. According to the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit DA’s office via 41NBC, surveillance video showed Vershaun Smith chase July, corner him at a locked gate, and stab him multiple times; a Hancock County jury convicted Smith of malice murder and sentenced him to life without parole in August 2026. Andre Weems, 36, was fatally stabbed September 9, 2025; GPS research notes eight people were charged and a grand jury no-billed.

In 2026, Steven Monroe Wood, 54, was beaten in his cell and died at a hospital; Jaylin Bell, 32, died following an altercation with his roommate; Jerrod Johnson, 27, was fatally stabbed; Jacorey Derrelle Pearson, 36, died April 7; and Albert Chapa, 57, died July 30. Major incidents included a January 12, 2026 episode in which five inmates were stabbed and two were airlifted, followed by another fight on January 13.

Augusta Transitional Center — Deputy Warden

GPS records list Mahoney as Deputy Warden at Augusta Transitional Center in 2025. The single death attributed to Augusta is James Nicolas Waugh, 30, dated July 5, 2026; his record lists Mahoney’s role at the time as Deputy Warden at Augusta Transitional Center. The provided record does not include a cause narrative for Waugh.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Georgia Prison Homicides Investigation and related coverage of Hancock violence, staffing, lawsuits, and the 2024 DOJ report.
• 41NBC/WMGT — Vershaun Smith conviction, Corey July killing, and Jaylin Bell death reporting.
• Union-Recorder — Steven Wood beating death and Corey July stabbing coverage.
• 13WMAZ — Travon Walthour homicide and Corey July coroner-reported age.
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 report on Georgia prisons; investigation of Charles “Tristen” McKee’s death.
• GDC January 2025 mortality data — homicide coding for William Holeman and Prince Porter.
• UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project / GDC open records — cause coding for 2020–2021 Hancock deaths.
• GPS personnel and mortality records — position history, death totals by facility, and incident data.

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.