Three Birmingham residents are in custody and the St. Clair County Correctional Facility on lockdown after authorities say the trio tried to smuggle guns, drugs and cell phones into the Springville lockup.
The plot was uncovered about 4 p.m. Wednesday when a state corrections officer manning the prison tower reported a suspicious vehicle moving toward the prison's security fence. From the tower, the officer observed one of the suspects inside the vehicle toss an object over the fence, according to a press release issued by the Alabama Department of Corrections this afternoon.
The officer immediately alerted the prison's security team, which responded and found several unmarked packages inside the prison fence. The suspects attempt to flee, but they were unable to get away and were detained by the prison's K-9 unit and St. Clair County sheriff's deputies. DOC Intelligence and Investigations Division made the arrests.
Investigators inspected the packages and found two handguns, drugs and several cell phones. The prison was placed on lockdown as a precaution.
Those charged are: Anthony Little and Drevan Jones, both 19, of Birmingham; and 31-year-old Alexis McKnight, also of Birmingham. All three suspects were charged with felony promoting illegal prison contraband. Following their arrest, the suspects were turned over to the St. Clair County Sheriff's office.
"The arrest and confiscation of the contraband is indicative of our officers' professional approach to their job, and working together as a team," Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said in a prepared statement. "Although DOC is understaffed and faces budgetary challenges, public safety and the safety of our officers and inmates is the department's foremost priority. The successful outcome of this incident makes that point clear."
The investigation is ongoing. The prison will remain on lockdown until investigators and the team have completed the search.
The prison has been the site of violence multiple times in the past. In April, 12 inmates were treated by correctional medical staff following a riot there and three others were treated in offsite medical facilities.
A corrections officer was assaulted by an inmate during the morning meal at 4 a.m., and transferred to an offsite medical to receive treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. Following the assault, Correctional Emergency Response Team was sent to the prison, which ADOC said is "standard procedure."
The facility was placed on lockdown and inmates were ordered to return to their cells, according to ADOC, but inmates in one cell block refused. The CERT team entered the block at around 10:15 a.m. According to ADOC, inmates refused a second order to return to their cells and "became unruly and aggressively engaged the response team with physical force."
The inmates were armed with weapons including locks tied to belts, five knives, and broken broom handles.
In June, an inmate attacked a correctional officer with a blunt object after approaching him during a security check. Another officer was injured in April. The facility was also placed onlockdown in January following a fight
Trio busted tossing guns, drugs and cell phones over Alabama prison fence