Three detention officers in two different cases arrested for smuggling contraband into Georgia jails

Crime doesn’t pay, as three detention officers in two Georgia jails have learned after allegedly smuggling contraband to inmates.

In Troup County in western Georgia, Steven Michael Crowder was arrested after an investigation revealed he was bringing in narcotics for inmates and being paid by a third party. He is the only detention officer implicated in the scheme; the inmates involved have not been charged.

Mr. Crowder has since been charged with four counts of violating an oath as a public officer, four counts of bringing in items prohibited to inmates and one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

In a news release on Facebook, Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff said, “Every person who joins our staff is held to a higher standard, and I personally tell each of them the consequences they will face should they make the choice to bring contraband in the jail or participate in criminal behavior.”

In an unrelated case in Barrow County, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, two detention officers, Hunter Lewis Perkins and Xavier Jamal McWhorter, turned themselves in to Barrow County Detention Center on Monday.

The two officers were being investigated for smuggling unspecified contraband to prison inmates. Mr. Perkins and Mr. McWhorter have been charged with bribery, trading with inmates without proper authorization, bringing in items prohibited to inmates and violating their oaths as public officers.

In a news release on Facebook, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said, “The trust that exists between our office and the community is very important to all of us at the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office. When someone violates that trust, we will act swiftly.”