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Pineiro, Aaron Thomas
Status: active
Profile written July 12, 2026
Salary
$118,352
2025 · state payroll
This profile reflects positional accountability — this individual held the leadership roles shown during the dates shown, during which the listed deaths or lawsuits occurred. Inclusion does not constitute a legal finding of personal culpability for any specific incident.
Tenure Summary
Aaron Thomas Pineiro entered the Georgia Department of Corrections as a correctional officer at Valdosta State Prison in 2007 and rose through behavioral-health and supervisory roles before becoming a deputy warden and ultimately a warden. Over the course of his leadership tenures — as deputy warden at Valdosta State Prison and as warden at Coastal State Prison and Phillips State Prison — GPS records attribute 81 deaths to the facilities he oversaw: 12 at Valdosta, 30 at Coastal, and 39 at Phillips. Pineiro is personally named as a defendant in nine civil-rights lawsuits filed between 2017 and 2026, several of which remain pending.What happened on their watch
Deputy Warden, Valdosta State Prison (2019–2021)
While Pineiro held the facility-deputy role at Valdosta State Prison, GPS records attribute 12 in-custody deaths to the facility. Among them were three homicides documented by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Prince Blige died from a stab wound to the torso in February 2020, Orvonta Casmir Tillman from multiple sharp-force penetrating trauma to the thorax in June 2020, and Bobby Lane Carpenter from a stab wound to the chest in September 2020. The remaining deaths during his deputy-warden tenure were classified as undetermined or pending cause.Warden, Coastal State Prison (2022–2023)
As Warden 1 in 2022 and Warden 2 in 2023 at Coastal State Prison, Pineiro presided over a period in which 30 deaths occurred, per GPS records. The AJC investigation identified one homicide among them: Salomon Andres Ramirez, whose death in October 2023 was ruled an apparent homicide. The remainder of the deaths were of undetermined cause. During his wardenship, the lawsuits Brewer v. Chambers (filed November 2022) and Browner v. Brown (filed June 2023) were initiated; both named Pineiro as a defendant. Later reporting by WTOC would describe systemic staff violence, food denial, crumbling infrastructure, and prolonged lockdowns at Coastal, but those accounts emerged after his tenure there.Warden, Phillips State Prison (2024–present)
Since assuming leadership at Phillips State Prison in January 2024, first as Warden 2 and then as Warden, Pineiro’s facility has recorded 39 deaths. Gwinnett County Medical Examiner and GBI reports detail at least five homicides among them: David E. Fambro (July 2024), Timothy Hurley (September 2024), Brandon Lashaun Mincey (October 2024), Corey Madison Cochran (December 2024), and Jody Stokes (January 2025). The family of Leroy Brooks has contested the natural-causes ruling in his December 2024 death, telling the medical examiner it “can’t be natural causes” and citing a history of beatings in custody. Medical examiners also classified several deaths as suicides — including Nile Baptiste Young (October 2024) and Christopher Blake Hines (March 2025) — and as accidents, such as Jonathan Matthew Rucker (January 2024). Multiple federal lawsuits naming Pineiro were filed during this period, including Doe v. Georgia Department of Corrections and Mckenzie v. Oliver.Litigation
- Mckenzie v. Oliver, No. 4:26-cv-00108 (N.D. Ga., filed Apr. 28, 2026) — pending.
- Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (N.D. Ga., filed Jun. 6, 2025, terminated Mar. 30, 2026) — terminated.
- Patrick v. Moore, No. 4:24-cv-00242 (S.D. Ga., filed Oct. 24, 2024) — pending.
- Doe v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 1:23-cv-05578 (N.D. Ga., filed Dec. 6, 2023) — pending.
- Browner v. Brown, No. 4:23-cv-00167 (S.D. Ga., filed Jun. 21, 2023) — pending.
- Brewer v. Chambers, No. 4:22-cv-00264 (S.D. Ga., filed Nov. 9, 2022, terminated Jul. 25, 2024) — terminated.
- Daker v. Ward, No. 7:20-cv-00113 (M.D. Ga., filed Jun. 11, 2020, terminated Nov. 3, 2021) — terminated.
- Mosley v. Caraviello, No. 6:19-cv-00100 (S.D. Ga., filed Nov. 4, 2019, terminated May 6, 2021) — terminated.
- Young v. Smith, No. 6:17-cv-00131 (S.D. Ga., filed Oct. 2, 2017, terminated Mar. 16, 2021) — terminated.
No monetary settlements or judgments against Pineiro are recorded in GPS data.
Sources
- GPS records — personnel positions, death totals (total_deaths_attributed, deaths_by_facility), lawsuit docket data.
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution — homicide investigations and cause-of-death documentation for Valdosta and Coastal State Prisons, broader prison-conditions reporting.
- Gwinnett County Coroner / GBI Medical Examiner reports — cause and manner of death for Phillips State Prison in-custody deaths (received and OCR’d 2026-06-26).
- WTOC — reporting on human-rights crisis at Coastal State Prison, inmate deaths.
- WALB — reporting on William Springer stabbing at Valdosta State Prison.
- Yahoo.com — reporting on drug-trafficking network directed from Valdosta State Prison.
- PACER / CourtListener — federal court dockets for lawsuits naming Pineiro as defendant.
Positions Held
| Title | Facility | Tenure |
|---|---|---|
| WARDEN 2 | PHILLIPS STATE PRISON | 2024-01-01 → present |
| Warden | PHILLIPS STATE PRISON | 2024-06-16 → present |
| WARDEN 2 | COASTAL STATE PRISON | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 |
| WARDEN 1 | COASTAL STATE PRISON | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2019-01-01 → 2021-12-31 |
| DEPUTY WARDEN | GEORGIA STATE PRISON | 2017-01-01 → 2018-12-31 |
| BEHAVIORAL HLTH COUNSELOR SPV | GEORGIA STATE PRISON | 2016-01-01 → 2016-12-31 |
| BEH HEALTH/COUNSELOR (WL) | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2015-01-01 → 2015-12-31 |
| Correctional Officer | VALDOSTA STATE PRISON | 2007-01-01 → 2007-12-31 |
Lawsuits as defendant
| Case # | Court | Filed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:26-cv-00108 | GAND | 2026-04-28 | pending |
| 1:25-cv-03191 | GAND | 2025-06-06 | terminated |
| 4:24-cv-00242 | GASD | 2024-10-24 | pending |
| 1:23-cv-05578 | GAND | 2023-12-06 | pending |
| 4:23-cv-00167 | GASD | 2023-06-21 | pending |
| 4:22-cv-00264 | GASD | 2022-11-09 | terminated |
| 7:20-cv-00113 | GAMD | 2020-06-11 | terminated |
| 6:19-cv-00100 | GASD | 2019-11-04 | terminated |
| 6:17-cv-00131 | GASD | 2017-10-02 | terminated |
Deaths attributed during tenure
81 people died at facilities under Pineiro, Aaron Thomas's leadership.
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