Hunt on for man who flung contraband over DOC courtyard

A man was seen yesterday morning flinging contraband over the Department of Corrections’ courtyard as inmates were let out for some air. DOC, in partnership with the Department of Public Safety, are on the hunt for the individual and are seeking the community’s help in locating and identifying him.

During a press conference yesterday afternoon, DOC Commissioner Anthony Torres shared that at around 9am yesterday morning, a man was seen throwing contraband over DOC’s southern fence into DOC’s courtyard while inmates were out for recreation time.

However, the individual remains at large and unidentified.

“There was an incident this morning at approximately 9:39am where a man was seen in the jungle on the south side of the DOC facility. He was caught throwing an object over the DOC fence into the DOC’s full court while inmates were in recreation playing basketball. At that point, my staff immediately responded to the call to assist with the search. My internal affairs staff also responded by searching the Nauru Building for the suspect along with DOC officers. The suspect was described as male, around 5’5 to 5’8, between 100 lbs. to 200 lbs., with medium-tanned skin and short wavey hair. In addition, the suspect was last seen wearing a blue turquoise shirt with a light-brown long sleeve camouflage jacket, dark colored shorts, and slippers,” said Torres.

As of press time, Torres said he could not disclose what the contraband was specifically as an investigation remains pending, but he said all possible angles are being explored and information will be released once the suspect is apprehended.

“DOC is also looking into the possibility that the suspect could have been a former inmate dropping off contraband. We’re investigating all angles,” he said.

Torres said DPS officers also assisted the search by scouring the jungle area from which the contraband was flung from.

However, despite this, DOC said the community’s help is needed in identifying the individual.

“With that, if anybody has seen the individual described, please call it in to DPS, Crime Stoppers, or DOC. The Suspect is still at large. We are going to do whatever it takes to prosecute this individual,” he said.

Torres said the plan is to hold the individual accountable is made possible through the recently passed contraband law that imposes penalties for violators.

“I want to reiterate, with the new contraband law, a person commits a offense if a person knowingly provides or attempts to provide major or minor contraband to a person in custody in a correctional facility, on the grounds of a correctional facility, or during an outside assignment. In the past, to my knowledge, things like this have happened but there was no remedy. It was only handled administratively. There was really no weight, now, with the contraband law, it gives us something to pursue,” Torres said.

In related news, Torres shared that as part of his duty in enforcing the contraband law, DOC lost an officer and a lieutenant.

“In addition, we have two DOC personnel who are no longer with us. An officer and a lieutenant. The officer was caught bringing in contraband, specifically a cellphone for an inmate to use, while the lieutenant was also caught brining contraband specifically for inmates. These cases are pending before the court. They’re no longer with us,” he said.

DPS Commissioner Anthony Macaranas informed the community that the once the investigation is completed, the department will be forwarding the case to the Office of the Attorney General for prosecution.

“With this case, because we handle the investigative part in collaboration with DOC, our part is to take the complaint, investigate, and then when the case has been fully investigated, we will bring it before the Office of the Attorney General for prosecution,” he said.