He escaped an Atlanta prison to sneak back in with liquor, cigars
The Telegraph
By Becky Purser
February 9, 2017
An inmate was recently caught about to sneak back into medium-security prison camp in Atlanta with two 1.75 liters of Jose Cuervo tequila, two cartons of Newport cigarettes and four boxes of Black and Mild cigars.
Justin Stinson had planned to smuggle the contraband into the prison, an FBI agent says in a federal complaint.
Stinson’s arrest just outside the prison Feb. 3 by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies stems from an investigation initially launched by the Atlanta Police Department in January of 2013.
Police have been investigating “instances of inmates temporarily escaping from the prison camp at U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, and frequently returning to the camp with contraband,” FBI agent James Hosty said in a complaint filed in federal court in Atlanta. Hosty is assigned to the Atlanta Division’s Public Corruption Squad.
Stinson is accused of climbing through a hole in one prison fence then over the the prison’s outer fence to escape. He then retrieved a black duffel bag from someone inside a car stopped on New Town Circle, according to the complaint.
He was arrested as he headed back to the prison camp. Other confiscated contraband included a cellphone, scissors and various food items.
Stinson admitted to the FBI that he was going to smuggle the items into the prison, according to the complaint.
In a January 2013 incident, Atlanta police saw a parked vehicle in which three of those inside climbed the prison fence and fled into the prison.
“A search of the empty vehicle revealed a large quantity of bottled alcohol, 24 cell phones, and two loaded handguns,” the complaint said.
Atlanta police also recovered several green army bags on the ground near the prison camp’s fence line.
Stinson, who was scheduled to be released from prison on a possession of a firearm by a prohibited person in December 2018, faces a new escape charge.
The investigation into the escapes and smuggling of contraband into the prison facility is on-going, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.