A juvenile corrections officer from Savannah was arrested on felony drug charges Friday, a day after another officer with the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice was arrested for allegedly selling marijuana.
Kevin Maurice Biggins, 31, of Savannah was in a student dorm room on the Savannah State University campus when he was arrested, DJJ spokesman Jim Shuler said Saturday.
According to Shuler, Biggins was taken into custody after allegedly concealing in his clothing a plastic bag which contained two prescription bottles and 13 smaller bags filled with marijuana.
“Biggens then allegedly directed the arresting officer to a handgun in a drawer, where the officer also discovered an unmarked prescription bottle containing an illegal stash of oxycodone pills,” Shuler said in an e-mail.
Biggers, who worked at the Savannah Regional Youth Detention Center, was booked into the Chatham County Jail, charged with felony possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm on school property.
The incident was the second similar arrest in two days of an off-duty juvenile corrections officer.
Craig Banks, of Cedartown, was arrested Thursday and booked into the Polk County jail on felony charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge following a two-year investigation, the DJJ said.
Banks was released from jail shortly before 2 p.m. Friday after posting $16,100 bond, Polk jail records show.
Banks was employed at the Marietta Regional Youth Detention Center (RYDC) in Cobb County before he was suspended Friday.
“This officer has been with the department for nearly ten years,” DJJ Commissioner Avery D. Niles said in an emailed statement. “But regardless of employee seniority, rank or position, those who break our laws and those who violate our policies will continue to face serious consequences and DJJ will continue to cooperate with prosecuting authorities.”
Investigators do not believe Banks brought contraband items into the detention center in Cobb.
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