Drone Delivery of Drugs, Porn to Prison Heads to Trial

CUMBERLAND, MD — A man already imprisoned for life for his role in a Prince George’s County murder will go on trial this week for taking part in a scheme to fly drugs and pornography into a Maryland prison via drone.

Charles Brooks, 43, is serving a life sentence for conspiracy to commit murder in 2002. As an inmate at the maximum-security Western Correctional Institution, he was involved in a dog-training program.
Prosecutors charge that when Brooks walked his dog outside at night, he retrieved the contraband flown over the prison walls by two men who have been found guilty in the case.

Keith B. Russell, 30, of Silver Spring, pleaded guilty in February to three misdemeanor charges involving tobacco, rolling papers and a cellphone. The father of two saw prosecutors drop about 30 other charges against him, with both sides agreeing he had a minor role in the drone delivery of drugs and porn operation.

The state will recommend a 10-year prison term at Russell’s sentencing.

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.

Russell and Thaddeus Shortz, 25, of Knoxville, MD, were arrested on property adjacent to the prison. Authorities say the suspects had a drone, contraband items, and a handgun in the vehicle.

Last month, a jury convicted Shortz on all but four charges, WTOP reports. Shortz faces up 51 years in prison for 17 contraband convictions.

Investigators say Brooks was in a dog-training program that enabled him to walk his dog outside his housing unit alone at night. They say he used the trips to retrieve contraband dropped near the back door of a prisoner housing unit.

Brooks is charged with 33 misdemeanor counts that carry a maximum punishment of 99 years, reports the Cumberland Times-News.

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

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