A Fulton County jailer received bribes worth $17,000 in exchange for allowing jail detainees to possess contraband and hang out in restricted areas of the troubled facility, arrest warrants allege.
Karmen Bailey, 31, was arrested Oct. 4, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday. The former jailer is accused of accepting payments from the family members of inmates she was tasked with supervising, including from relatives of Marquavius Huey, one of six defendants on trial in rapper Young Thug’s slow-moving gang and racketeering case.
Bailey resigned Sept. 27 amid the monthslong investigation that resulted in her felony charges. An arrest affidavit said she allowed sheriff’s office investigators to search her cellphone in August, leading to the discovery of more than 20 transactions in which Bailey received $17,000 from the “family members and associates” of Fulton inmates.
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Warrants allege she accepted money from Huey’s mother and sister, which “influenced her job performance.”
An investigator wrote that Bailey failed to confiscate what appeared to be white pills from Huey and allowed him temporary access to a restricted area of the jail, “where she assisted other inmates in the procurement of contraband.”
Bailey is charged with four counts of violating her oath of office, two counts of bribery and two counts of providing inmates with prohibited items. Huey’s mother and his 18-year-old sister were also arrested on bribery charges stemming from the jail investigation, authorities said.
Huey now faces an additional charge of possessing contraband, as does fellow detainee Osama Manuel, according to the sheriff’s office.
Huey is one of six defendants on trial in Fulton’s lengthy “Young Slime Life” case involving Grammy-winning musician Young Thug.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Prosecutors say the rapper, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is the leader of YSL, which they contend is an Atlanta-based gang responsible for a spate of robberies, shootings and the murders of at least three people. Defense attorneys maintain their clients are innocent and say YSL is simply the name of Williams’ record label.
Jury selection in the sprawling racketeering case began in January 2023. The trial is already the longest in Georgia history and Fulton prosecutors say they hope to call about 100 more witnesses.
In a statement, Huey’s attorney Careton Matthews noted that his client has been in custody for nearly three years.
“Unfortunately, it has become all too common that we hear about allegations of corruption, bribery and violations of oath of office by some of the men and women responsible for housing and securing those individuals who are in custody within the Fulton County Jail,” he said.
“Our client, Mr. Huey, has been in continuous custody since December 2021; and is cloaked with the presumption of innocence as to all of these recent allegations,” Matthews continued. “We plan to litigate this case in the courtroom; where all issues of proof will be zealously tested.”
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Bailey remains held at the Fulton County Jail on $80,000 bond, records show.
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