WARTBURG — A Morgan County grand jury on Tuesday indicted inmate Reginald C. Steed for first-degree murder in the February 24 stabbing of correctional officer Dustin Pedigo. The grand jury also charged Steed with possessing an unlawful weapon in a penal facility.

According to authorities, Steed defeated a faulty cell lock and ambushed Pedigo during nighttime rounds at the Morgan County Correctional Complex. Pedigo, who was alone on late-night rounds, was stabbed eight times in the neck with a shank, per an autopsy report.

The grand jury met behind closed doors and heard testimony from a Tennessee Department of Correction investigator before issuing the indictment. An addendum to the indictment noted that the panel will reconvene on June 23 to hear additional testimony, including from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents.

Tennessee Department of Correction officials acknowledged that the Morgan County prison used narrow jam door locks known to be vulnerable to being opened with simple tools like a piece of paper. Officials admitted the state’s prisons have had issues with these locks since the early 2010s, and that inmates were aware of how to manipulate them.

State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, and state Sen. Tom Hatcher, R-Blount County, both said in a podcast interview they believe Pedigo’s killing was “preventable.” Hatcher added that a meeting with Warden Shawn Phillips “went well.”

Steed, 35, has been transferred to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Court records indicate he has not yet been formally served with the indictment. Ninth Judicial District Attorney General Russell Johnson had planned to present the case to the grand jury this week.