A 35-year-old federal inmate pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he escaped from a prison camp in southeast Atlanta then tried to sneak back in with tequila, cigarettes and cigars.
FBI and Atlanta police arrested Justin Stinson on Feb. 3. He had allegedly slipped through a hole in one fence on the prison property and then climbed an outer fence to fetch a duffel bag from someone waiting in a car, police said.
Originally sentenced in October 2015 in Florida, Stinson was a little more than a year into his 51-month sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm when he was indicted last week on one count of escape and five counts of possession items that are prohibited in prison.
“Escape? You don’t see those charges everyday,” federal Magistrate Catherine Salinas said Wednesday after reading the charges against Stinson.
Stinson was apprehended with a black duffel bag containing “a cellular telephone, a pair of scissors, two 1.75 liters of Jose Cuervo tequila, two cartons of Newport cigarettes, four boxes of Black and Mild cigars and various food items,” according to a complaint filed in federal court.
Stinson's arrest drew attention to the prison camp on McDonough Boulevard where inmates have allegedly been operating a "sophisticated" black market of drugs, booze, cellphones, cigarettes and other things that are prohibited inside a prison. One inmate, who asked for anonymity out of fear of retaliation, told the AJC that inmates frequently bring in food like chicken, ribs and beef which they grill inside the prison camp living area, They then sell the food to other convicts for cash or packages of mackerel, which acts as the prison's preferred currency.
The FBI, which is investigating, referred requests for comment to the prison. Officials with the Bureau of Prisons in Washington and the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
Vance Bryant, president of Local 1145 of the Council of Prison Locals, the union for correctional officers at the Atlanta federal prison, said escapes at the prison “have been an ongoing problem for years.”
“You can see once they (inmates) cut a hole, they (prison officials) put a patch on it,:” he said. “And they cut another hole and they patch it. And they cut another hole.”
Bryant said there is usually just one one corrections officer assigned to watch almost 500 inmates in eight buildings during week day hours. At night and on weekends there are two officers assigned to the camp.
Credit: David Barnes
Credit: David Barnes
Located at the intersection of McDonough Boulevard and New Town Circle, the camp houses what are considered low-risk, nonviolent prisoners. Many are drug offenders. The camp is made up of eight low-slung concrete buildings where inmates are housed in dormitory-like conditions. There are at least two rows of fences outside. All along the fence line are obvious patches.
The inmate who contacted the AJC provided photos and videos to support his claims that inmates have ready access to cell phones, alcohol drugs like cocaine, marijuana and narcotics — and alcohol.
The inmate said the drinking and drug use continued even after Stinson’s arrest and after repeated questions from the AJC.
“People were drunk last nite (sic) I was smoking weed busines (sic) as usual,” the inmate said.
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