The Mississippi Department of Corrections has made five arrests in connection to contraband items discovered at two state prisons.
MDOC said in a press release five people, including a parolee and an ex-convict, face charges in connection with contraband items found recently at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and South Mississippi Correctional Institution.
Brian Peeks, 35, Donta Shirley, 31, and Stacey Nicole Taylor, 30, all of Columbus, and Jennifer Lauren Ruth, 26, of Aberdeen, and Tiffany Gray, 30, of Mount Olive, have been charged with conspiracy to introduce contraband.
Peeks, Shirley, Taylor and Ruth allegedly tried to smuggle multiple packages into SMCI. They were arrested Friday. According to the press release, the four were found on roads near the prison. Questioning revealed the four had been in the woods surrounding the prison since April 29. Corrections officers began searching for suspects after a backpack filled with packages of tobacco was found between security fences behind SMCI. MDOC said that upon questioning the suspects, it was revealed the four had gone into the woods surrounding the jail with multiple backpacks of contraband and bolt cutters.
Peeks has been on parole since October for a receiving stolen property conviction, and Shirley completed a sentence in 2011 for cocaine possession. Both were convicted in Lowndes County.
In an unrelated case that yielded the same charge, Gray was charged after the discovery of a contraband box that led to the lock-down of CMCF on April 21. Sean K. Smith, director of Corrections Investigations Division said Gray’s name was on the package, which was being delivered via commercial vehicle. Gray has been taken to Rankin County jail.
“This arrest shows that we are going to diligently pursue anyone who thinks he or she can get contraband into our prisons,” said Corrections Commissioner Marshall Fisher. “There will be more arrests in this case.”
Introduction of contraband into a correctional facility is punishable by three to 15 years in prison, a maximum $25,000 fine, or both. Conspiracy to introduce contraband carries up to a $5,000 fine, five years imprisonment, or both.
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