LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The family of a man killed inside a prison is suing the Nevada Department of Corrections and its leaders.
Isaiah Sharp, 21, was killed at High Desert State Prison on March 14, 2021.
The 8 News Now I-Team exposed how there were warning signs before Sharp’s murder. His family said they were never told about the warning signs and learned about the details through the I-Team’s report.
Andrew Hilford, 34, is accused of stabbing Sharp 96 times inside their prison cell. Hilford had been caught with a shank multiple times before and was previously accused of trying to attack a correctional officer.
He had also issued a warning a couple of months before Sharp’s murder in which he told a correctional case specialist that he wanted to be housed with a specific inmate and threatened to hurt anyone else placed with him, according to the lawsuit.
Sharp’s grandparents, Nicholas and Lauren Snider allege negligence and violations of civil and constitutional rights.
He was serving a 44 to a 132-month prison sentence for an armed robbery in 2017. At age 18, it was Sharp’s first offense, according to the lawsuit.
His sister, Tori Sharp, told the I-Team that he had struggled with drugs. Four days before he was killed, the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners recommended he be released, effective March 31, 2021.
Hilford is serving a sentence of 20 years to life for a previous murder.
“I don’t know why they would place my brother with someone like that when they obviously could tell that my brother isn’t like that,” Tori Sharp said.
The lawsuit also names Director Charles Daniels, Deputy Director William Quenga, Deputy Director of Operations Brian Williams, Inspector General James Jones, High Desert State Prison Warden Calvin Johnson, Associate Warden Jeremy Bean, Associate Warden Frank Dreesen, Associate Warden Gary Piccinini, and Associate Warden Ronald Oliver as defendants.
The lawsuit was filed by Reno-based attorneys Leah Ronhaar and William Jeanney of Bradley, Drendel, & Jeanney.
Ronhaar released the following statement to the I-Team regarding the lawsuit.
Beyond the four corners of what is alleged in the complaint, we should have an expectation that when we put young, non-violent, first time offenders into the prison system, they should be kept safe and they should come home to their families once their sentence is served. The facts here just don’t speak to that. I am eager to move forward and learn more about how and why this happened, and bring justice to this grieving family.
Leah Ronhaar, Attorney at Bradley, Drendel & Jeanney
The I-Team has reached out to the Nevada Department of Corrections for a comment.