TELFAIR COUNTY, Ga. — The Department of Corrections released a statement on their website on Thursday, detailing several contraband arrests at state prisons in Georgia.
They say there was one arrest at Calhoun state prison, where the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office observed Civilians Tryron Puckett and Willie Fort walk into the woods near the prison on March 22.
Deputies searched the area and found 2 bundles wrapped in electrical tape. The bundles included several contraband items, including: 15 cellphones, 20 cigarette lighters, 15 cigars, and 280 grams of tobacco.
Both Fort and Puckett were arrested by Calhoun County Sheriff and transported to Calhoun County jail.
The other arrest happened at Telfair State Prison, on March 24.
Security staff for the facility noticed a drone with a package attached to it flying over the jail.
The package contained the following: 7 cellphones, 1695 grams of tobacco, 744 grams of marijuana, 535 grams of meth, 4 packs of rolling paper, 5 charging cords, 3 charging blocks, 1 hotspot, 1 vape, 1 sim card, 1 cellphone battery, and 34 oxycodone pills.
The Telfair Sheriff's Office searched the surrounding area and found Todd Deangelo Walker and Inger Gritman in the woods. They said a third suspect also was spotted, but ran into the woods.
Their car was searched, and 1 drone controller and 1 gun were recovered. They were taken to Telfair County jail.
The other in Telfair County happened on March 25, where Benjamin Johnson was found sitting in his vehicle parked across the street from the prison.
The sheriff's office was notified, and searched his vehicle. During the search they found a bag which included 2,386 grams of tobacco, 23 earbuds, 12 SIMS cards, 6 cellphones, 40 charging cords, 13 charging blocks, 51 packs of rolling paper, 2 phone cases, and 1 external battery pack.
The final arrest happened on March 31 at Smith State Prison.
Glennville Police Department and Tattnall County Sheriff's Office saw a car parked near the jail and went to investigate.
Joseph Durant was taken into custody by Tattnall County Sheriff's Office, and Kenneth Alberta fled the scene. The GDC Canine Unit was brought in to help with the search, and Alberta was captured near the Woodline and arrested.
The items taken from their car and on their person included 1 drone, 1 drone controller, 1 black bag with unknown contraband, and several personal phones.