Drone Booked to Deliver Drugs, Porn to Prison Inmate: Authorities

Updated at 2 p.m.

Maryland authorities say they thwarted what is believed to be the first attempt in the state to use a drone to fly drugs and pornography into a prison.

Two suspects were arrested Saturday near Western Correctional Institution in Cumberland with a drone and contraband items.

Thaddeus Shortz, 25, of Knoxville, MD, and Brian Keith Russell, address unknown, were taken into custody on property adjacent to the prison. Authorities say the suspects had a drone, contraband items, and a handgun in the vehicle.

“You can’t make this stuff up,” Stephen T. Moyer, secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services, said during a Monday press conference, NBC Washington reports.

The men planned to deliver drugs and CDs with porn to prison inmates using the drone, according to a news release. The vehicle’s owner had been under surveillance for some time because officers with the prison and the Department of Corrections suspected them, and at least one inmate, of plotting to use the unmanned drone to drop contraband at the prison.

Online court records show Shortz was charged with eight crimes, including drug possession and distribution, and felon in possession of a weapon. He was released on $250,000 bond Sunday.

Russell is being held on a no-bond status.

The synthetic drug K2, or “spice,” was found in the suspects’ vehicle, along with tobacco and CDs containing pornography, authorities said. Drugs entering the prison threaten the safety of inmates as well as prison staffers, Moyer said.

A search of an inmate’s cell Saturday turned up contraband; officials didn’t release details on what was found.

Department of Corrections employees are investigating what can be done to prevent drones from flying into prison areas, spokesman Gerard Fields said. The department will also consult with the governor’s office and the state legislature.

Commenting on the case, Gov. Larry Hogan said in a release, “I commend the members of the investigative task force as well as the dedicated correctional employees who assisted in this investigation. Keeping our prisons safe and free of contraband will always be a priority of our administration and I am confident Secretary Moyer and all of our law enforcement agencies will continue doing everything possible to ensure this happens.”

»Photos of unmanned drone and contraband confiscated by authorities, courtesy of Maryland Public Safety and Correctional Services