Greene County deputies continue to be on the front lines of the battle to keep illegal contraband out of Georgia prisons.
Deputy Josh Corwin arrested an Atlanta man who admitted he was involved in delivering materials to a Georgia prison after he was pulled over on Feb. 28. He claimed not to know which prison the materials were intended for.
Xavier Raynard Boyd, of 5890 Riverdale Rd., Apt. N2, Atlanta, has been charged with possession of tools for the commission of a crime and cited for traffic violations.
Corwin was patrolling just north of White Plains on Highway 15 when he saw a Hyundai Santa Fe pass a vehicle in a no-passing zone.
Corwin initiated a traffic stop and said he noticed two large black bags in the rear of the vehicle and another large, square-shaped object covered by a blanket. He also said there was an overwhelming odor of air freshener coming from the vehicle as if it had just been sprayed to cover up another scent.
The driver, soon identified as Boyd, said the items in the back of the vehicle were just his belongings and that he was heading from Atlanta to Davisboro to visit family. Corwin asked Boyd to consent to a vehicle search, but he refused. Corwin then contacted the Greensboro Police Department’s Lt. T. J. Janes, who brought his K-9 partner to the scene to conduct a free air sniff of the vehicle.
While waiting, Corwin asked about the out-of-state tag on the vehicle. Boyd said he had rented the vehicle in order to keep the miles off his personal vehicle.
When Corwin explained that a deputy and his K9 partner were en route to assist with the traffic stop, Boyd became very nervous, according to the incident report. He told Corwin he had some marijuana in the center console and offered to retrieve it.
When Boyd confessed to having marijuana, a probable cause search was conducted.
During the search, Corwin found a small bag of what appeared to be marijuana along with two larger bags inside net bags with homemade drop rings attached.
According to the report, the bags contained vacuum-sealed bags of what appeared to be tobacco with packs of rolling papers inside each bag (95 bags in total), 10 new Apple iPhones packaged in foam, and 10 Apple charging cords with power blocks.
Corwin also found a large, four-rotor drone with a homemade drop kit and a cell phone attached to its legs, in a bag.
Greene County deputies have intercepted contraband many times over the last three years as attempts to deliver such items to prisons have escalated, particularly the prison in Hancock County.
Boyd later told Corwin he had already picked up the vehicle, loaded with the drone and packages, in a Walmart parking lot in Atlanta.
When Corwin asked where he was supposed to take the items, Boyd said he hadn’t been given a destination yet and that he would be contacted later for instructions.
Boyd also told the deputy he had been paid $1,000 to deliver the merchandise and agreed to do so because he was $12,000 in debt from a divorce.
The drone, drone battery, packages of possible tobacco, iPhones, chargers, and the bag of suspected marijuana were all turned over to Agent Caleb Wiggins of the Georgia Department of Corrections.