HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — Two Houston County deputies were arrested on Tuesday for bringing contraband to an inmate at the Houston County Detention Center.
An anonymous letter sent to the Houston County District Attorney's Office claimed an inmate was receiving marijuana and off limit personal hygiene products from 33-year-old Laura Sheriff and 23-year-old Michael A. Harris.
Contraband in prisons and jails is not uncommon, but the Houston County Detention Center Jail Administrator says when it's deputies are sneaking it in, that's an insult.
"Any detention center, jail, prison. That's a battle you fight," Major Alan Everidge said.
Everidge says it is not unusual for inmates to try to bring off-limit items inside the jail.
In his 8 years as jail administrator, he's heard rumors and allegations, but they've never charged a deputy with bringing in contraband.
"These 2 give, what I think is a good group of folks who are trying to do a tough job, a very black eye," Everidge said.
He says they do regular searches of lockers and cells, bring in drug sniffing dogs, and monitor the mail that comes in.
Inmates will try to bring things back after being on a work detail, dump contraband in the trash cans outside, or hide it in their socks and shoes, Everidge said.
Over at the Georgia Department of Corrections, between October and December of last year, they seized 8,300 items like cell phones, handmade weapons, meth, marijuana, and pills.
"Fortunately, the contraband that we find most often is not illegal," Everidge said.
He said it's mostly items the inmates can't have more than 1 or 2 of, like sheets and extra towels.
They also have "no contact" visitation to limit the possibility of contraband getting inside.
As for Sheriff and Harris, Everidge says they do the best they can to train their deputies and have deterrents in place to stop things like this from happening.
But, he said inmates can be manipulative.
"They can talk you into doing something. They gain your trust, and you know, it's a little thing, and once they got you for a little thing, they can get you for a big thing," Everidge said.
Both Harris and Sheriff are charged with one count of items prohibited and violation of oath by a public officer.
"The public needs to understand that when inmates come to jail, they don't stop being inmates. They don't become Boy Scouts, but our staff, we train them and we try our best to make sure they don't get manipulated," said Everidge.
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