Pineiro, Aaron Thomas

Tenure Summary

Aaron Thomas Pineiro entered the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2007 as a correctional officer at Valdosta State Prison, moved into behavioral health work at Valdosta (2015) and Georgia State Prison (2016, as a counselor supervisor), and became deputy warden at Georgia State Prison in 2017. He returned to Valdosta as deputy warden for 2019 through 2021, then took the top post at Coastal State Prison in 2022 (WARDEN 1, then WARDEN 2 in 2023), holding it until mid-June 2024. On June 16, 2024 he moved to Phillips State Prison as warden, the position the records show him holding through 2026.

GPS's death registry attributes 85 deaths to facilities during his leadership tenures: 40 at Coastal State Prison, 33 at Phillips State Prison and 12 at Valdosta State Prison. State liability payouts recorded in the Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger are tied to those facilities during his tenures, including $600,000 for Dennis Carpenter (Coastal, 2022 incident) and $8,000 for Ronald Ray Agan (Coastal, 2023), and $60,000 for Terry Berrian (Valdosta, 2021). Federal court dockets list Pineiro as a defendant in nine suits, four of them still pending.

What happened on their watch

Georgia State Prison — Deputy Warden (2017–2018). No deaths are attributed to this posting in the registry. The DOAS Risk Management settlement ledger records four state payouts tied to Georgia State Prison incidents in 2018, during his tenure there: $115,000 (Seth Rouzan), $8,408.43 (Sue Hobbs), $7,500 (Quonterious Toles) and $1,000 (Kelton Alston).

Valdosta State Prison — Deputy Warden (2019–2021). Twelve deaths are attributed to this tenure. Among them, the registry records that Prince Leonard Blige died February 12, 2020, at Valdosta State Prison, from a stab wound to the torso; that Orvonta Tillman died June 16, 2020, at Valdosta State Prison, of multiple sharp-force penetrating trauma to the thorax; and that Bobby Carpenter died September 9, 2020, at Valdosta State Prison, from a stab wound to the chest. The DOAS settlement ledger shows eight Valdosta payouts across 2019–2021, ranging from $1,500 to $60,000.

Coastal State Prison — Warden (2022 – June 15, 2024). Forty deaths are attributed to this tenure. The registry records that Salomon Andres Ramirez died October 20, 2023, at Coastal State Prison in a death GDC classified as an apparent homicide, with cause not stated; that Ryan Chase Archer died December 13, 2023, at Coastal State Prison, from a stab wound to the chest after a fight with other prisoners; and that Raymond Littles died April 16, 2024, at Coastal State Prison, in an incident classified as a homicide, with another prisoner disciplined. Registry entries for a number of Coastal deaths in this period list the cause as Unknown/Pending. A 2024 U.S. Department of Justice investigation found that Georgia prisons, Coastal State among them, were failing to protect prisoners from violence, neglect and unconstitutional conditions, and concluded GDC violated the Eighth Amendment.

Phillips State Prison — Warden (June 16, 2024 – present). Thirty-three deaths are attributed to this tenure. The registry records that David Fambro died July 24, 2024, at Phillips State Prison, from complications of facial fractures with an interval of 26 days, with incident-report data showing a homicide. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported January 21, 2025 that Dave Stone was allegedly assaulted in a mental health ward, apparently with two pipes wrapped in a cloth, resulting in brain death, and that officers allegedly arranged for McBride to be brought to the lockdown unit on the day he was killed in a gang-related stabbing. A separate allegation, dated July 17, 2026, describes a serious stabbing in a Phillips dormitory in 2025 after incarcerated veterans were transferred and recreational materials were removed.

The registry's most recent deaths during this tenure:

• Jacob Ray Nicholson died July 13, 2026, at Phillips State Prison; cause Unknown/Pending, age 29.
• Richard L Thatcher died May 3, 2026, at Phillips State Prison; cause Unknown/Pending, age 58.
• Rickie Lynn Rutherford died April 18, 2026, at Phillips State Prison; cause Unknown/Pending, age 41.
• Cornelius Burge died February 11, 2026, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 42.
• Rodger Scales died February 9, 2026, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 40.
• Willie Roseborough died January 13, 2026, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 54.
• Justin Curtis Kinsey died November 8, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Accident, age 37.
• Terry Nichols died October 14, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Suicide, age 42.
• Alonzo Jr Carter died September 20, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Homicide, age 78.
• Kendrick Keon Scales died August 27, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Overdose, age 35.
• Joseph Ulrich died June 1, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 30.
• John Dean Tolbert died May 4, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 69.
• Taron Edmonds died March 31, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 32.
• Christopher Blake Hines died March 24, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Suicide, age 37.
• Jerry Wayne Spencer died March 10, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 58.
• Harry Ray Taldon died February 22, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 57.
• Tommye Mobley died February 14, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 45.
• Ricky Ray Breedlove died February 7, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 71.
• Thomas Nicely died January 23, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical.
• Shun Pinkston died January 18, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical.
• William Pate died January 14, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical.
• Jody Stokes died January 13, 2025, at Phillips State Prison; Homicide.
• Eddie Ray Scott died December 19, 2024, at Phillips State Prison; Natural/Medical, age 60.
• Corey Madison Cochran died December 18, 2024, at Phillips State Prison; Homicide, age 29.
• Leroy Brooks died December 9, 2024, at Phillips State Prison; cause Unknown/Pending, age 64.

Litigation

• Mckenzie v. Oliver, No. 4:26-cv-00108 (GAND), filed April 28, 2026 — pending.
• Daker v. Oliver Filing Restriction Per 59 Order, No. 1:25-cv-03191 (GAND), filed June 6, 2025 — terminated March 30, 2026.
• Patrick v. Moore, No. 4:24-cv-00242 (GASD), filed October 24, 2024 — pending.
• Doe v. Georgia Department of Corrections, No. 1:23-cv-05578 (GAND), filed December 6, 2023 — pending.
• Browner v. Brown, No. 4:23-cv-00167 (GASD), filed June 21, 2023 — pending.
• Brewer v. Chambers, No. 4:22-cv-00264 (GASD), filed November 9, 2022 — terminated July 25, 2024.
• Daker v. Ward, No. 7:20-cv-00113 (GAMD), filed June 11, 2020 — terminated November 3, 2021.
• Mosley v. Caraviello, No. 6:19-cv-00100 (GASD), filed November 4, 2019 — terminated May 6, 2021.
• Young v. Smith, No. 6:17-cv-00131 (GASD), filed October 2, 2017 — terminated March 16, 2021.

No outcome amounts are recorded for any of these cases.

Sources

• Atlanta Journal-Constitution — homicide investigations reporting; January 21, 2025 allegations concerning Dave Stone and McBride at Phillips State Prison.
• U.S. Department of Justice — 2024 investigation into Georgia prison conditions, including Coastal State Prison.
• Georgia Department of Administrative Services Risk Management settlement ledger (open records) — liability payouts at Coastal, Valdosta and Georgia State Prison.
• Federal court dockets (CourtListener) — nine cases listing Pineiro as a defendant.
• GPS death registry — death records and incident classifications at Phillips, Coastal and Valdosta.

Synthesized by GPS Intelligence System on Nov 1, 2026 from positions, attributed deaths, lawsuits, intel reports, and news mentions in the public corpus. The supporting data tables follow below.