Scheduled to be released from prison May 16, an Atlanta federal inmate faces a new charge after he posted a video to his Facebook page from inside the prison.
Joe Fletcher, who appeared to admit his involvement in a deadly 2010 shooting in Ohio in the 49-minute video, was indicted on a charge of illegally possessing a communication device inside a federal prison, U.S. Attorney “BJay” Pak said in a news release Friday.
“This inmate was particularly proud of himself when he posted a lengthy interactive video on his Facebook page that showed him talking on a contraband phone from inside his prison cell,” Pak said.
“He made a further claim that he committed a murder in another state. Prisoners with illegal phones and similar devices inside our prisons pose a serious problem that threatens the safety and security of employees and the public.”
Fletcher, who had been in federal prison for only three weeks at the time the video was shot in late January, has been arraigned on the new charge.
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Referring to the Ohio shooting, Fletcher, 30, pulled a fake trigger with his hands in the video and said: “Everybody knows I did it. I did it.”
Another man is serving time for that shooting. Pak’s statement didn't address if it would be investigated again.
Fletcher also ate snacks, drank from a can of Pepsi and bragged about being involved in multiple shootings.
He told viewers he “run(s) Akron,” but plans to stay in Atlanta and become a rapper.
Fletcher has prior convictions for drug trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm. He was sentenced to seven months in prison for violating his probation and arrived in Atlanta on Jan. 5, according to investigators.
— Staff writer Alexis Stevens contributed to this article.
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