By Brandon O’Connor

Reporter

 

Justin Faulk, an inmate at the Decatur County Correctional Facility, is facing a charge of Possession of Drugs/Weapons by Inmates after officers found marijuana in his jacket when he returned from work detail.

According to Warden Gordon Screen, inmates are stripped searched and their clothes are checked when they return from outside work detail. When Faulk returned to the correction facility on Tuesday, Mar. 8, officers conducted the routine search and found the marijuana hidden in the bottom rim of his jacket.

Screen said that inmates acquire drugs or other items while on work detail in a variety of ways.

“Family members, friends, or members of the community throw things out to inmates,” Screen said.

Another popular way is for family or friends to stash items in advance if they know inmates will be working at a certain location. For instance, Screen said that it is widely known that inmates clean up at Centennial Field after every home game during football season. Family and friends can take advantage of that by hiding items in prearranged locations for the inmates to find while cleaning.

“We have had inmates ingest drugs and later get them out of their system,” Screen said. “We have had inmates insert drugs and later get them out of their system.”

According to Screen, there are two more cases currently pending against inmates who were found to have drugs inside the correctional facility.

In addition to the searches, inmates have a walk around device called a Cellsense when they return from outside work duty. It can detect cell phones and other metal hidden on the inmate’s person.

Faulk’s case has been turned over to Brian Donalson of the Decatur County Sherriff’s Office and the Pataula Drug Task Force. Faulk has been an inmate at Decatur County Correctional Facility since December 2015. He was serving a two-year sentence for a probation violation.