McKenzie, Lachaka Nicole

Tenure Summary

Lachaka Nicole McKenzie has spent two decades inside Georgia Department of Corrections facilities. She began as a Correctional Officer at Macon State Prison in 2005, worked as a counselor at Dooly State Prison (2007) and Macon State Prison (2010), moved into behavioral health counseling and supervision at Macon (2015–2016), and was promoted to Deputy Warden at Macon, a post she held from 2017 through 2022. Since 2023 she has held leadership roles at Central State Prison: Correctional Unit Manager (2023–2024), a concurrent Unit Manager/Deputy Warden posting in early 2025, and — from May 1, 2025 — Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment.

Georgia Prisoners' Speak attributes 43 deaths to her leadership tenures: 32 at Macon State Prison and 11 at Central State Prison. Four lawsuits naming her as a defendant were filed during those tenures, three now terminated and one pending. Six state liability settlements were paid on Macon State Prison incidents that occurred while she was Deputy Warden there, including payouts of $1,375,000 and $750,000 linked to documented deaths. No news report in the dataset names McKenzie directly.

What happened on their watch

Macon State Prison — Deputy Warden (2017–2022)

32 deaths are attributed to her Macon State Prison tenure. Named records during the posting run from January 2020 through December 2022 and include men aged 23 to 75. Entries logged as homicides include Carrington Juwon Frye, 23 (stab wounds to neck and chest; his mother told Georgia lawmakers he bled for more than half an hour before help arrived); Johnny Eugene Young, 24; Kendrick Malik Brown, 25 (blunt force head injury — his mother said he was due for release in a month but was placed in a cell with a prisoner known to be dangerous); James Cornelius McLeroy III, 26 (stab wounds to the torso; the incident report shows two other prisoners involved were gang members); Carlos Maurice Fisher Jr., 30; David Travis Alexander Dennis, 35; Joseph Walter Brown, 36; Rafael Blas Becerra, 36 (seven other inmates involved, six injured); Raul Villegas, 37; Ryan Weston Darville, 37; Bobby Edward Lee Jr., 38 (ligature strangulation — a federal lawsuit alleges he was strangled by his cellmate, a convicted murderer); Coty Dustin Silvers, 39 (asphyxia); Dan Brooks Jr., 50; and Robbie B. Brower, 58 (blunt and sharp force injuries to head and neck).

The Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger, obtained through open records, records six liability payouts tied to Macon State Prison incidents from this period: $1,375,000 (Bobby Edward Lee, 2020 incident, linked to a documented death record); $750,000 (Coty Silvers, 2020 incident, linked to a documented death record); $98,000 (Javante Harris-Evans, 2021); $450 (Frank Gillis, 2021); $32,500 (Robin Kimbrel, 2022); and $6,250 (Bavarious Nelson, 2022).

Central State Prison — Correctional Unit Manager (2023–2024), Unit Manager/Deputy Warden (Jan.–Apr. 2025), Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment (May 1, 2025–present)

11 deaths are attributed to her Central State Prison tenure, all recorded while she held the Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment role: Ricky D. Ring, 56 (July 2025); James Theodore Miller, 64 (Sept. 2025); Joseph Hamm, 36 (Oct. 2025); Ronald Goss, 60 (Oct. 2025); Miguel Angel Duran, 44 (Mar. 2026); Michael Lane Brooks, 77 (Apr. 2026); Richard Palmer, 57 (June 2026); and Raemonte Gentale Harris, 39, Mickey Barrett, 64, Demetris Raynard Keller, 38, and Steve Allen Burk, 38 (all July 2026).

Allegations and incidents logged at the facility during her leadership tenure include: a 13WMAZ report that a Central State guard faced charges after falsely imprisoning four Department of Family and Child Services employees in December 2025 over child support payments; a 13WMAZ report that three former guards were accused of beating an inmate and attempting a cover-up in March 2025; three inmates charged with stabbing another inmate in June 2025; a January 2026 inmate fight that hospitalized one prisoner and prompted a GDC investigation; and a GPS intake submission dated April 13, 2026, in which a family member or witness reported that an incarcerated person showing stroke symptoms was denied timely medical attention, with a significant delay before hospital transport. Each is recorded against her Central State tenure, with Deputy Warden of Care and Treatment listed as her role.

Litigation

• Tucker v. Holt, No. 5:24-cv-00360 (M.D. Ga.), filed Oct. 16, 2024, terminated June 11, 2025 — McKenzie named as a defendant while serving as Correctional Unit Manager at Central State Prison.
• Tucker v. Wellpath LLC, No. 5:24-cv-00215 (M.D. Ga.), filed July 3, 2024, still pending — Central State Prison tenure.
• Smith v. Ward, No. 1:19-cv-03871 (N.D. Ga.), filed Aug. 12, 2019, terminated June 7, 2023 — Macon State Prison Deputy Warden tenure.
• Bey v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 5:19-cv-00236 (M.D. Ga.), filed June 14, 2019, terminated Sept. 30, 2022 — Macon State Prison Deputy Warden tenure.

Sources

• Georgia DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — six Macon State Prison liability payouts, 2020–2022
• 13WMAZ — Central State Prison reports on a guard charged with falsely imprisoning DFCS employees and former guards accused of beating an inmate
• GPS case submission (Apr. 13, 2026) — reported delay in stroke care at Central State Prison
• CourtListener dockets — Tucker v. Holt; Tucker v. Wellpath LLC; Smith v. Ward; Bey v. Georgia Department of Corrections
• Incident and death records with family statements relayed to Georgia lawmakers (Carrington Juwon Frye; Kendrick Malik Brown)
• GDC position and salary records, 2005–2025 — career history at Macon State Prison, Dooly State Prison, and Central State Prison

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Sep 23, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.