An Alabama corrections officer was arrested for smuggling in pornography to sell to inmates, according to law enforcement officials.
Frederick Johnson, an employee of the Mobile County jail, was arrested on Tuesday, May 17 and charged with 21 counts of promoting prison contraband, the Mobile County Sheriff's Office told WPMI.
Johnson Caught During Random Bag Check
Johnson, who worked at the jail for three years, was caught during a random bag check by officers who were conducting random checks of employees as they arrived for work on May 17. During the search, they found that he was trying to sneak in flash drives loaded with movies, most of them adult films in addition to phone chargers, a camera, and a camera watch.
MCSO Detectives believe Johnson was bringing contraband into Metro Jail to sell to the inmates. "This behavior will not be tolerated," says Sheriff Sam Cochran. "We are constantly investigating how contraband is brought into our jail and if we find it is one of our employees then we will arrest him/her just like we would anyone else."
Johnson Also Tried to Smuggle Handcuff Key, Superglue
Officers also recovered superglue and a handcuff key from Cochran's bag that he intended to sell to inmates. Cochran said that Johnson not only illegally smuggled contraband into the prison but also put other officers in extreme danger.
"I'm just outraged," said Cochran. "He has no regard for his fellow employees life or safety when he brings that handcuff key in. Because obviously an inmate could use that to uncuff himself and attack one of our employees."
Cochran said inmates cut mattresses open and hide the contraband inside before sealing it up with superglue to conceal it during cell checks. "And you can imagine, we have over 1,000 mattresses in the jail," said Cochran.
Johnson Received Payments on Cash Apps Like Venmo, PayPal
Cochran says Johnson likely fetched hundreds of dollars for each item and was paid on cash transfer apps like Venmo or PayPal on cells phones smuggled into the jail. A thriving underworld black market that's only gotten worse, Cochran says, in the last year as construction created security breaches.
"This is not unique to Mobile County. Our state prisons have it. Other jails, other prisons across the country because of the technology that exists today. There are criminal syndicates that operate from within prisons and jails across this country," said Cochran.
Johnson has also been fired. He's due in court Thursday for a bond hearing. In the meantime, he's being held in protective custody at the jail.
