Mahoney, Tamikia Nicole

Tenure Summary

GPS records attribute 26 deaths to facility-leader tenures held by Mahoney, all at Hancock State Prison. No lawsuits naming Mahoney as a defendant appear in the provided record. A state liability settlement of $424,710 is logged for the 2022 death of Charles McKee at Hancock, per the GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger.

What happened on their watch

Early staff and supervisory postings (2006–2018). Mahoney was a correctional officer at Wilkes County Prison in 2006, a counselor and chief counselor at Hancock State Prison in 2011 and 2013, a unit manager at Hancock in 2017, and a unit manager at Augusta Transitional Center in 2018. GPS records show no deaths attributed to these tenures.

Correctional Assistant Superintendent, Hancock State Prison (2019–August 2024). Deaths recorded in this period include Cesar Arnold Pastrana (March 2020), Xaysana Thao (December 2020), Rashad Bolton (January 2021), Dwayne Zackery (February 2021), Michael Anthony Brown (June 2021), Terrill Bernard Howard (October 2021), Charles Tristen McKee (May 2022), Terry Lee Bishop (October 2022), Norman Jackson Samples (December 2022), Roland Lamont Phillips (June 2023), Francisco Melgar-Saldivar (August 2023), and Timothy Dale Hicks (August 2023). According to the AJC, Pastrana died of a stab wound to the chest, Bolton of a puncture wound to the chest, Zackery of a stab wound to the chest with a homemade knife, Bishop of blunt force trauma with acute methamphetamine and cannabinoid toxicity, Samples of blunt force injuries of the head and torso, Phillips of multiple sharp-force injuries, and Melgar-Saldivar of strangulation and blunt force. GDC coding obtained by UCLA Law’s Behind Bars Data Project lists Thao and Michael Brown as natural deaths, and Howard as undetermined. A lawsuit filed by Bolton’s parents claims he was stabbed to death at Hancock. In McKee’s case, a DOJ investigation found he tried to escape gang members by jumping through stair railings and was stabbed further; a lawsuit alleged staff failed to act on his requests to be moved and placed him in a dorm with gang members hostile to LGBTQ inmates. Cleveland Gary was convicted of killing McKee, per the AJC. A claim filed against the state alleged Melgar-Saldivar was not provided appropriate medical care after being attacked.

Deputy Warden of Security, Hancock State Prison (September 2024–present). Deaths recorded during this posting include Ralph Thompson (October 2024), Travon Walthour (October 2024), William Holeman and Prince Porter (January 30, 2025), John Childree (April 2025), Corey July (June 2025), Brian Smith (July 2025), Andre Weems (September 2025), Steven Monroe Wood (January 2026), Jaylin Bell (February 2026), Jerrod Johnson (February 2026), and Jacorey Derrelle Pearson (April 2026). GPS records describe Walthour as a stabbing death. Holeman and Porter were found dead in the same dorm about 15–20 feet apart after gang-related violence; the GDC-released January 2025 mortality data coded both as homicide, undetermined/awaiting autopsy. July was fatally stabbed in the prison yard; per 41NBC, a Hancock County jury convicted Vershaun Smith of malice murder in August 2026 after prosecutors said surveillance showed Smith chasing July, cornering him at a locked gate, and stabbing him repeatedly. Wood died after being beaten by his cellmate, Bell died following an altercation with his roommate, and Johnson was fatally stabbed per GPS records; the GDC Office of Professional Standards opened investigations into Wood, Bell, and Pearson deaths. Broader incidents during this period include a September 2024 gang assault in which seven prisoners were disciplined, and January 2026 fights in which five inmates were stabbed with shanks and two airlifted. AJC reporting placed Hancock’s correctional-officer vacancy rate at 73.5% as of October 2024, and a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice report described violence, sexual assaults, and gang-run prisons in Georgia.

Sources

• GPS personnel, mortality, incident, and case records
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — prison homicide investigation, staffing/vacancy reporting, DOJ report coverage
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 Georgia prisons report; investigation into Charles McKee death
• 41NBC/WMGT — Corey July murder conviction; Jaylin Bell death
• Union-Recorder — Steven Wood death coverage
• 13WMAZ — Travon Walthour and Corey July reporting
• GA DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) via GPS
• UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project custodial mortality dataset (GDC coding, 2015–2021)
• GDC Office of Professional Standards investigation notices in GPS records

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Aug 16, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.