Backpack full of drugs and cell phones siezed
By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Two men, both reportedly Alabama residents, were arrested Christmas Eve (December 24) on numerous charges after they were found near Fountain Correctional Facility (FCF) with a backpack full of drugs and cell phones.
Agents with the ADOC’s Law Enforcement Services Division and the agency’s K9 Bureau, assisted by officers from Atmore and Poarch Creek police departments responded to reports received Tuesday of possible trespassers near the state prison, just outside Atmore.
According to an ADOC press release, K9 handlers located the suspects, Derrick Bean and Keith Davis (ages and cities of residence not furnished), in a wooded area near the prison. The backpack contained “about 448 grams” of marijuana, 28 grams of methamphetamine, 8 grams of cocaine, an unspecified quantity of fentanyl, and various cell phones and charging blocks.
Bean and Davis were arrested and booked into the Escambia County Detention Center on three counts each of possession of a controlled substance, attempting to commit a controlled substance crime, prohibited activities, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and first-degree possession of marijuana.
Bean was also charged with third-degree possession of a controlled substance and second-degree promoting prison contraband. He and Davis both remained in the county early Tuesday, December 31.
One or both could face more charges as the investigation continues, ADOC officials said.
The arrest marked the squelching of an apparent third major smuggling attempt at the prison during December.
An Atmore preacher who is also a Fountain employee was arrested December 5 after a “prison-made box” containing four ounces of flakka (street name, bath salts), an unspecified amount of marijuana, several knives, tobacco and cell phones was found wedged in the rear bumper of his truck.
A local woman who was visiting her inmate son was arrested December 7 after she passed a package to him that contained OxyContin, Xanax, Percocet, a cell phone and a charger for the phone.