Suspect Called Drone Delivery of Drugs, Porn 'Gold Mine': Prosecutor

Updated at 6:04 p.m.

CUMBERLAND, MD — The first of two suspects facing trial for allegedly using a drone to fly drugs and pornography into a Maryland prison lost a motion in court Thursday to dismiss the charges.

Maryland authorities said in August they thwarted what is believed to be the first attempt in the state to use a drone to sneak contraband items into Western Correctional Institution in Cumberland.

Thaddeus Shortz, 25, of Knoxville, MD, and Brian Keith Russell, 30, of Silver Spring, 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.

Shortz argued in court Thursday that investigators illegally searched the pickup truck in which police found the remote-controlled drone, along with packages of prescription narcotics, synthetic marijuana, tobacco and pornographic videos, NBC Washington reported. A judge rejected that argument and his two-day trial began.

Prosecutor Erich Bean said that Shortz, who had served time at the prison previously, discussed the conspiracy with inmate Charles Brooks. Those talks were recorded, prosecutors said, and the suspects reportedly called the planned drone operation “a gold mine,” WTOP reports.

Bean said the men dropped contraband near the back door of a housing unit reserved for prisoners who trained service dogs. Brooks was free to go in and out to walk the dogs, so he picked up the contraband.

After first claiming to simply be the driver, Shortz reportedly later told authorities he was the operation’s ringleader, earning $4,000 for each drone drop.

Defense attorney Robin Ficker told The Associated Press that prosecutors are overzealous in the charges filed against Shortz, an Army veteran who lost his right leg below the knee in a 2008 motorcycle accident.

The men planned to deliver drugs and CDs with porn to prison inmates using the drone, according to prosecutors. The vehicle’s owner had been under surveillance for some time because officers with the prison and the Department of Corrections suspected the duo, 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.

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 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.

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