A federal inmate and his fiancee pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony charges that they provided a shuttle service for prisoners who would escape a minimum-security prison camp in Atlanta and return later with contraband.
Deldrick Jackson is charged with conspiracy to escape as well as escape. Kelly Bass is charged with assisting him. Prosecutors say the two provided transportation for other inmates who wanted to visit women at nearby hotels, go to restaurants or pick up contraband they could resell.
On the night that the two were arrested, however, Jackson said he had left the prison camp so he and his financee could have sex.
Related: Drugs, booze and Mexican takeout
Their arrests are part of an on-going investigation into escapes at the prison camp adjacent to the U.S. Penitentiary in southeast Atlanta. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation has found that inmates have been leaving the property regularly - sneaking out through patched holes in the fence - only to return with alcohol, drugs or food.
Jackson, already serving 10 years and 10 months for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and money laundering, remains in custody. Bass is free on bond.
According to court filings, the Stone Mountain mother of three had for months been a taxi service for inmates who wanted a ride. They would use a cell phone app to arrange for Bass to pick them up at the prison camp.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Davis said in court several weeks ago that Bass drove inmates to nearby motels, restaurants and homes and then back to the prison.
An FBI agent’s affidavit, filed with a criminal complaint on April 13, described a thriving black market business at the Atlanta penitentiary.
The head of the FBI office in Atlanta, David LeValley, said the charges against Jackson and Bass illustrate “very clearly the problems at the federal camp.”
U.S. Attorney John Horn said in a statement that the escaping inmates “present a threat to the safety of citizens in the area. Safety concerns also arise when inmates return with contraband to feed a thriving black market.”
The prison on McDonough Boulevard is surrounded by homes, apartment complexes and businesses.
The AJC earlier this year reported on how inmates, with no fear of getting caught, would slip through holes cut in the fences to fetch drugs, alcohol, takeout, cell phones and food for grilling that they could sell to other prisoners for marked up prices.
Jackson and Bass were stopped moments after Jackson slipped through a fence and walked out the front gate. Bass was waiting in her silver Acura SUV.
The indictment against them says the two, often using the Square Cash phone app to collect payments, were providing a shuttle service for inmates. Records showed that between last November and April about $4,000 was transferred to Bass’ bank account from accounts belonging to prisoners at the Atlanta penitentiary or their families.
Law enforcement officers said they had video recordings of Bass picking up Jackson and other inmates in her SUV on Jan. 28. Other cameras captured her SUV pulling into a nearby parking lot to drop them off and then returning several hours later to take them back to the prison.
They were not arrested then.
But when Jackson and Bass were stopped on April 13, agents found two cell phones, several packs of cigarettes and several bottles of booze in the SUV.
According to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent, inmates had been leaving the prison camp and returning since January 2013.
The crack down on escapes came in early February when prisoner Justin Stinson was arrested as he headed toward a hole in a fence, and back to the camp, with a duffel bag containing a cell phone, two bottles of tequila, cigarettes, cigars and food items.
Stinson, who was in prison on a drug charge and scheduled to be released at the end of next year, pleaded guilty to escape on April 20. He will be sentenced in late June.
About the Author
