Former Butner prison guard pleads guilty to inmate assault cover-up

One of four employees accused of assaulting an inmate and trying to cover up the attack at the federal prison complex in Butner pleaded guilty in court this week.

Darryl Antron Campbell, a former lieutenant at the prison, stood before a federal judge in Raleigh on Monday and pleaded guilty to one of three charges he and his former coworkers face. Campbell had worked at the prison for years, but the day of the 2024 assault was his first day on the job after being promoted to lieutenant, his attorney Ralph Frasier said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Peaden told U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Numbers II that Campbell and the others arranged the attack after the prisoner had a visitation and complained about being strip searched afterward.

The next day Lt. Brandon Marquis Hayes, Lt. Brandon Perez Jones, and Campbell, along with special investigative services technician Brandon Jermaine Evans, arranged for the prisoner, who isn’t named in court documents, to be brought to an office without cameras, their indictment states.

There, the man was ordered to undress, Peaden said. When he resisted, Hayes threw him up against the wall and a struggle ensued. The prisoner’s clothes were ripped, and he suffered injuries to his body, including a bruise on his leg, Peaden said.

Afterward, the four prison employees tried to cover up the assault by lying about it, their indictment states.

Evans tried to persuade another employee to change information he submitted to officials, according to the indictment. Hayes falsely told his supervisors that the prisoner had threatened staff and sought to send him to a special housing unit, it states. Campbell also tried to have him sent to the special housing unit, the indictment states.

The men were indicted and arrested in September. Campbell, who appeared in court Monday, is the first of the four to enter a plea. He pleaded guilty to obstructing the investigation and could face up to five years in federal prison.

Campbell entered the plea as part of an agreement with prosecutors. The terms of the agreement, which a judge could overrule at sentencing, were not disclosed at the hearing or in court documents, many of which are sealed. He is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

The other men plan to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty in March and April, according to court documents.

This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 12:48 PM.