GCSO arrests suspects for prison drone drops

At the risk of droning on and on, information has come to light concerning another drone-related arrest by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

According to reports obtained from the GCSO, Sgt. Jordan Knowles was patrolling I-20 on Feb. 25 when he observed a vehicle traveling westbound at a high rate of speed. Stalker RADAR indicated the vehicle was traveling at 99 mph in a 70-mph zone. Deputy Christian Hall advised Knowles that he had checked the vehicle at 104 mph.

Knowles then conducted a traffic stop on the gray Chevy Malibu with a Kentucky license plate, which led to the arrest of Dontarrious Lamar Issac, 27, of Marietta, and Ashavion Fernando Turner, 21, of Snellville.

According to the reports, Isaac was charged with providing items prohibited to inmates. Turner was charged with furnishing weapons, intoxicants, and drugs to inmates, and also speeding.

When Knowles made contact with the two men, Issac – who was the passenger – told him they were returning from a trip to Florida, where they had been doing camera work.

Knowles said that he smelled marijuana and subsequently searched the car after Hall arrived on the scene to assist.

According to the report, Knowles found a large DJI drone in the back seat with an electronic drop kit on the underside and the controller on the floorboard of the front passenger seat.

When asked what kind of work the men did with the drone, Issac said they did shark fishing videos.

Knowles noted that the vehicle contained no luggage and none of the necessary equipment to complete videos made with the drone, such as a computer, battery chargers, or a camera attachment.

Knowles then contacted Special Agent Robert Keim of the Georgia Department of Corrections and advised him of the situation.

In recent months, Greene County deputies had ferreted out several suspects who were using drones to deliver contraband to inmates in area prisons.

Because of his familiarity with drone drop procedures and the fact that a contraband drop occurred earlier that night, Knowles decided to place Issac and Turner under arrest.

Keim told Knowles that an agent would come to interview the two men and he would be obtaining warrants. Sgt. Knowles transported both Isaac and Turner to the Greene County LEC without incident.

As of Feb. 28, both men were still in the Greene County jail. The DJI Matrice 600 Pro Drone with controller, a green iPhone, and a white iPhone were seized and placed into evidence.

Greene County Sheriff Donnie Harrison said his office is cooperating with the Department of Corrections as this ongoing investigation continues.

Greene County deputies began to notice this kind of criminal activity in the county last November when two men who appeared to be preparing to deliver contraband to area prisons using a drone were arrested by Greene County deputies following a traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle fled on foot.

That incident began with a traffic stop by Deputy Matthew Cowdrey, and geography played a role in what followed.

One of the men arrested had mentioned three cities that were close to state correctional facilities (Wrightsville: Johnson State Prison, Sandersville: Washington State Prison, and Milledgeville: Baldwin State Prison) during his explanation of where they had been and where they were going.

Cowdrey also noticed the lack of luggage or personal items in the car while conducting his investigation as well.

Cowdrey said he began to suspect the three men might be involved in criminal activity involving the state prison system due to their nervousness, all-black clothing, implausible travel plans, evasive answers, listing cities with state correctional facilities located in them, and having a third-party vehicle, according to the Lake Oconee News.

When Cowdrey subsequently searched the vehicle, he found vacuum-sealed packages inside a large bundle secured with multiple layers of plastic wrap.

According to the report, the bundles each had a small cord attached to a metal ring at the end, potentially for easy drop release from a drone. A search of the vehicle’s trunk yielded two ‘DJI’ InspireModel T650A drones with tape over the flight lights.

FBI Task Force Officer William Schwartz arrived at the GCSO and the bundles were examined. The bundle marked H1 contained one pound of marijuana, seven clear plastic vacuum-sealed bags containing tobacco and rolling papers, two cell phones, and two cell phone chargers. The other bundles had similar contents.

Deputies found four pounds of marijuana and one kilogram of methamphetamine in the car. Schwartz took possession of both drones and all cell phones.

Another drone arrest occurred on Jan. 17 under strikingly similar circumstances.

Deputy Leosbel Sierra had initiated a traffic stop, and a probable cause search revealed a drone remote control, two drone batteries, and a large drone in the trunk that had black electrical tape on each corner.

Along the top of the drone were two large bundles containing tobacco and marijuana in a white, plastic, trash bag.