Three individuals from Lagrange were arrested after allegedly attempting to use a 30-pound drone to deliver contraband into Baldwin State Prison on New Year’s Day, according to the Milledgeville Police Department. Officers intercepted the drone before it reached the prison.
Maj. Brandon Sellers, head of the police department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Special Response Team, stated that detectives observed the large drone flying about half a mile from the prison. Sellers told The Telegraph, “It was probably the biggest drone, size-wise … that either dropped or was going to drop out there at that prison.”
A man in possession of $8,000 in cash and various items commonly considered contraband—such as cigarettes and lighters—was apprehended. Police used a canine unit to locate some of the contraband and found two suspects hiding in nearby woods.
Sellers explained, “What he’s finding is anything that’s got a recent scent on it.”
Police said they stopped the drone after 2 a.m. Thursday by having suspects bring it down rather than shooting at it. Sellers noted that shooting an aircraft is illegal under federal law: “Unmanned drones or airplanes doing a prison drop or not, that is still considered an aircraft so you cannot shoot at it.”
The three arrested suspects are Jeffery Young, 39; Cardell Merrick, 48; and Nikita Swanson, 48. Young and Merrick face charges including use of an unmanned aircraft to deliver or attempt to deliver contraband; attempt or conspiracy to introduce contraband; and aiding, abetting or conspiring in using an unmanned aircraft for this purpose. Swanson faces charges of attempt or conspiracy to introduce contraband and aiding or abetting in using an unmanned aircraft.
Sellers indicated more arrests could follow: “This is kind of a big conspiracy. This is kind of how these folks do this: they use multiple people, multiple vehicles to do these drops,” he said.
According to Sellers, authorities intercept around four to five drones each month headed for Baldwin State Prison but estimate even more succeed in delivering prohibited items such as cell phones and chargers into the facility.
“The majority of the contraband we end up intercepting going into the prison will have 10, 15, 20 cell phones at a time, probably double that in cell phone chargers,” Sellers said.
Drones being used for delivering contraband has become an increasing problem across Georgia prisons. Sellers commented on state-level concerns: “The Department of Corrections is saying this is a problem and getting the legislature to jump on this pretty quick.”
The police department continues its investigation into this incident as well as other similar cases involving attempts to smuggle goods into correctional facilities.
