Fulton County Jail inmate’s sister speaks out after brother reportedly extorted
Fulton County Jail inmate worried over threats
An Atlanta family fears their loved one could be killed before he gets his day in court. The inmate's sister says her brother is being extorted and threatened at knifepoint by gang members inside the Fulton County Jail.
ATLANTA - An Atlanta family is fearful their loved one could be killed before he gets his day in court.
The inmate's sister says that her brother is being extorted and threatened at knifepoint by gang members inside the Fulton County Jail.
Sister says Fulton County Jail inmate speaks out
What they're saying:
This sister says she is speaking out because her brother needs help.
"He’s telling the officers and officials inside that he is afraid, that he's receiving these threats and they're doing nothing. They're taking it as a joke," the sister said.
The woman is upset at how she says her brother is being treated at the Fulton County Jail.
Fulton County Jail inmate extortion allegations
The backstory:
She says inmates who are gang members are extorting her brother for money, demanding that he have his family send money through Cash App, or he will be harmed.
"He called me, and he said, 'I need you to do me a favor. I need you to send a Cash App,' and someone took the phone from him and said, 'You're ready for the Cash App, take it down,' and I said yes, and I sent the money. Then they hung up the phone," the sister explained.
"Alexis," who did not want to use her last name for safety, says she sent $40 out of fear the first time, but when they called back a second time, she refused to send money, and the inmates made good on their promise of violence.
"They came into his cell, and they attacked him," she revealed, adding that he was hurt "really bad."
"They jumped on him, and one of them had a blade. He was stabbed in the foot and the neck," she added.
Alexis says her brother had just entered the Rice Street Jail in early January, but things started out poorly.
"When he first got there, for weeks, he had been asking for a toothbrush, something as simple as a toothbrush, toothpaste, tissue, he didn't get it for weeks," she complained.
"Fulton County Jail has a horrible reputation as it is. I have never had someone on the inside to know firsthand, but now that I do. I can only imagine what families feel like that have had people in there for years," she concluded.
Sheriff Pat Labat responds to inmate extortion allegations
The other side:
FOX 5 asked Sheriff Labat about these allegations. He said that the inmate was placed in protective custody on Friday, the inmate is now in a cell that locks, the inmate was treated for his injuries, and there is an active investigation into this incident.
The Source: FOX 5's Aungelique Proctor spoke with "Alexis," whose brother has been in the Fulton County Jail since January. The woman did not want her full name used for this report. Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat also gave an update on the inmate and the investigation.