Anne Parker
JACKSON, Miss. —
A detention officer was hit in the head early Tuesday morning by an inmate who busted a wall in the jail to escape and get a bag of contraband, Hinds County Sheriff Victor Mason said.
“One of the officers was doing a perimeter check and he walked into an inmate on the grounds (of the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond), who seemed to be going after a package that we believe was thrown over the fence. A fight, a struggle ensued. The officer was struck in the head; he’s fine now,” Mason said.
The officer was able to restrain the inmate, and during a search after backup arrived, authorities found three bags filled with contraband, which included chips, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, cigarettes and cellphones, Mason said.
"The Super Bowl is this weekend and I guess they wanted to have a party. But they will not have a party,” Mason said. “There will be no smokes and chips tonight at the ‘Mason Inn.’”
Investigators believe two people inside the jail were to receive the contraband. Both were charged, as was the inmate who struck the officer, Mason said. Investigators discovered that the inmate had made a hole in a wall to get out of the jail to pick up the contraband on the grounds of the detention center.
“I don’t like this. I really don’t. This gets on my nerves,” Mason said. “As long as I can slap penalties on them, I’m fine with it. They are going to learn that this is not the place.”
Monday’s incident is the second contraband smuggling case in less than a week.
“The protocol for something like this is to check each individual cell,” Mason said. “This jail has a history… and we just have to stay on our A game.”
Mason did not release the names of the inmates who were charged.
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