An Atlanta federal prison inmate’s Facebook Live video has gone viral after the man appeared to admit his involvement in a deadly shooting in Ohio.
Another man is serving 17 years in prison for the Sept. 26, 2010, shooting death of 19-year-old LaDonte Smith.
But in the 49-minute video, which has been viewed more than 8,000 times since it was posted Saturday, inmate Joe Fletcher pulled a fake trigger with his hands and said: “Everybody knows I did it. I did it.”
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Fletcher, 30, of Akron, Ohio, recorded the video inside the federal prison in southeast Atlanta, where he is incarcerated on weapons charges, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is investigating the incident.
“And we will take action based on our findings, including referring for prosecution, if needed,” the agency said in a statement emailed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Despite the Bureau of Prisons’ insistence that it has clamped down on inmates to keep banned items out of the low-security prison, booze, drugs and cellphones continue to flow into the facility. A new video and photos provided to The AJC by an inmate showed drinks flowing and music blaring during a New Year’s Eve party inside the facility.
In the Facebook Live, Fletcher ate snacks, took sips from a can of Pepsi and bragged about being involved in multiple shootings.
Fletcher told viewers he “run(s) Akron,” but plans to stay in Atlanta and become a rapper. He is scheduled to be released May 16.
Fletcher said he plans to rap about Anthony “Champy” Smart, the man who took responsibility for Smith’s death.
Smith’s mother told the Beacon Journal she wants her son’s murder revisited after Fletcher’s claims.
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