Former officer convicted of accepting bribes to smuggle drugs into Georgia prison
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A former corrections officer has been convicted by a federal jury for accepting bribes to smuggle contraband into a Georgia prison.
According to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office, 32-year-old Jokelra Copeland began working at the overnight shift at Autry State Prison in Pelham, Georgia. In just a few months, authorities say she worked with other officers and inmates to begin a smuggling operation.
During four months, police say Copeland accepted over $13,000 in bribes from the families of at least two inmate. In total, at least 11 bribes were paid to Copeland using a wire service.
“It’s troubling that Copeland was willing to sell her oath of office by breaking the very laws she had only months before promised to enforce,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak. “Smuggling contraband into our state prisons is a dangerous business. It compromises the safety of everyone in the prison – inmates, corrections officers and other employees.
Investigators say Copeland hid the packages under her clothing and smuggled contraband including marijuana.
Copeland was one of 68 officers in the Department of Corrections who were arrested by the FBI in 2016 after an investigation into contraband smuggling.
“Those who violate their sworn duties as prison officers for greed are a top priority for the FBI,” said Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Chris Hacker said. “Copeland not only betrayed the institution she was sworn to protect, she also betrayed every hard working corrections officer who upholds their oath every day.”
The former officer will be sentenced on May 1.