Alabama: The Decatur Daily reported that Ashlee Michelle Brown, 30, was arrested on May 6, 2026, and booked into the Morgan County Jail, where she was being held on a $50,000 bond for helping her boyfriend escape from custody at a hospital where he’d been taken by deputies of Sheriff Ron Puckett four days earlier. The fugitive, Tyler James Freeman, 27, was found hiding with Brown in a shed at his mother’s house. He was also taken into custody. He had been arrested on April 26 after leading deputies on a high-­speed chase through Hartselle in a stolen vehicle. When he confessed to swallowing over a gram of methamphetamine, they took him to Decatur Morgan Hospital, where he made his escape on May 2 while freed from restraints to use the restroom. At the time, Freeman was just two months away from completing a two-­year probated sentence for criminal mischief for leading deputies on a high-­speed chase in his truck in July 2023 that ended in a crash causing $1,000 in damages to a cornfield. Brown was due in court on June 16 to face trial on previous charges of organized retail theft and burglary.

Alabama: Former St. Clair Correctional Facility drug treatment counselor Elizabeth Cox, 61, was arrested and resigned on May 21, 2026. An investigation by the Law Enforcement Services Division (LESD) of the state Department of Corrections (DOC) found that she had provided food to an unnamed prisoner for resale purposes, the St. Clair Times reported. But she was apparently caught with weed, too, since she was booked into the St. Clair County Jail on charges including second-­degree possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Both are Class A misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and fines up to $6,000. She was also charged with third-­degree promoting prison contraband, a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and fines up to $3,000. A fourth charge of using her official position for personal gain will be investigated by the Alabama Ethics Commission before it issues an advisory opinion as to potential ethics violations, which can be prosecuted as felonies or as misdemeanors, depending upon severity. Cox posted a $21,000 bond and was released the same day.

Arizona: The Arizona Capitol Times reported that friction intensified between the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Re-­entry (DCRR) and the union representing its prison guards following a gang-­related clash at the Eyman Rynning Unit of the state prison complex on April 26, 2026. Though 10 prisoners were hospitalized after the melee, DCRR Director Ryan Thornell called it a “disturbance” and an “isolated incident.” He also claimed that staffing levels were at historic highs, averaging 87% statewide. However, Executive Director Carlos Garcia of the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association called it a “full-­blown riot” and said that the guard vacancy rate at the Eyman prison was over 27%.

California: On February 12, 2026, Lake County Jail guard Daniel Constancio Jr., 37, surrendered to authorities following an investigation into the 2024 sexual assault of an unnamed detainee at the Hill Road Correctional Facility, according to the Red Bluff Daily News. While the victim was in his custody, Constancio allegedly engaged in “unlawful sexual conduct” with her, leading to felony charges of sexual penetration by threat and oral copulation, plus a misdemeanor allegation of intimate touching against a victim’s will. The Office of Lake County Sheriff Luke Bingham put the errant guard on paid administrative leave and released him hours after booking on a $10,000 bond—which most likely cost him about $1,000 in cash.

California: The Los Angeles Times reported that the revolving door between law enforcement and organized crime spun at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CRCR) lockup in San Diego just 1.5 miles from the Mexican border. That’s where Jesus Reyes, 45, a prison guard since 2007, resigned on April 16, 2026, following charges that he moonlighted as a high-­level mule for drug traffickers. Reyes is accused of smuggling 20 kilograms of cocaine across the border to a Mexican stash house, where it was seized in 2023, along with nearly $180,000 in cash. Reyes remained on the CDCR payroll until his resignation. He was charged with conspiring to sell drugs, possessing drugs for sale and transporting drugs across county lines. 

California: Former federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) guard Jeffrey Wilson was sentenced to 52 months in federal prison on May 1, 2026, for his role in the widespread sexual predation of prisoners that had by then shuttered the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Dublin, KRON San Francisco reported. Wilson is the ninth staffer convicted in a culture of abuse so pervasive that prisoners dubbed FCI-­Dublin the “rape club”; as PLN reported, 103 of them settled a massive class-­action suit for $116 million in December 2024. [See: PLN, July 2025, p.1.] Wilson, 34, was found guilty of exploiting his position as a medical responder to prey on an unnamed prisoner requiring seizure medication, leveraging her health for sexual favors. He also provided the victim with a cellphone and pre-­paid credit card to solicit her to send him illicit selfies. Aware of federal law’s absolute ban on such contact, Wilson lied to investigators in an attempt to cover his tracks. BOP was forced to close the notorious lockup in 2024 as the sexual assault scandal widened.

Canada: Vancouver Police Department jail guard Omar Ahmed Flores, 33, was sentenced to six months of house arrest on May 9, 2026, for brutalizing two detainees. CBC News reported thatFlores kicked and stomped one unnamed victim in the face, punching him and kneeing him multiple times. Another victim, a 17-­year-­old Indigenous detainee who was also unnamed, was punched four times in the stomach while she was immobilized in a restraint chair and wearing a spit hood. Though Judge Colleen Elden acknowledged mitigating factors, including Flores’ guilty plea and expression of remorse, she condemned the “abhorrent” behavior “as another troubling example in this country’s long history of the mistreatment of Indigenous women.”

Florida: Deshawn Edward, a guard at the Brevard County Jail, was arrested by fellow deputies of Sheriff Wayne Ivey on April 18, 2026, after he was snagged in a massive sex trafficking probe that uncovered a two-­year enterprise involving the coercion and exploitation of a minor. Another suspect, Antonio Grandados, 26, allegedly used physical and psychological abuse to force the minor into sexual acts with dozens of men, of whom Edward is accused of being one, WPEC in West Palm Beach reported. Edward was fired and now faces prosecution with nearly 50 other suspects identified in the trafficking ring.

Florida: Dekarri Nixon, 28, a former guard at the Citrus County Detention Center in Lecanto, pleaded guilty on May 7, 2026, to federal charges of accepting a bribe as a public official, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Middle District of Florida announced. WFTV Orlando said that Nixon was fired after he admitted to accepting a $4,000 payment in exchange for smuggling a cellular device into the lockup, which is operated by CoreCivic and houses federal detainees. He now faces up to 15 years in federal prison, plus forfeiture of any ill-­gotten gains.

Georgia: A drone delivery of contraband was intercepted at the Washington State Prison (WSP) on May 3, 2026. WMAZ in Macon reported thatMariana Torres, 17, and Anyela Contreas Torres, 19, were caught with nearly three pounds of marijuana, cell phones, and razor blades intended for the state DOC lockup near Davisboro. Thanks to 2019 legislation banning unmanned aircraft near prisons, Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran reported that 44% of those detained in his county’s jail were being held for prison-­drop offenses. 

Georgia: Smuggling plagued the same prison the month before, when Cochran’s deputies intercepted a high-­volume contraband drop at the WSP on April 17, 2026. WMGT in Macon said that four suspects were detained as they attempted to breach the perimeter of the prison. They were identified as Monica Bell, 48; Courtney Rome, 38; Michael Martin, 43; and Christina Buchan-­Shields, 32. Recovered from them was a variety of illicit goods, including 2.95 pounds of tobacco, 4.5 pounds of methamphetamines, 45 vapes, 88 cellphones with chargers, a Dewalt flashlight and charger, two packs of craft magnets, two basketballs, one machete, one bottle of liquor and a medium meat lovers pizza.

Georgia: On May 8, 2026, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labatt confirmed that he had asked the state Bureau of Investigation to investigate a case of alleged medical neglect at the county lockup in Atlanta, where detainee Rashaad Muhammad suffered amputation of both legs and several fingers in 2025. According to WSB in Atlanta, as well as civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Muhammad repeatedly requested antibiotics for a pre-­existing bladder condition after his August 2025 booking, yet staff ignored his pleas until he collapsed into septic shock. He then spent the rest of his 188-­day incarceration at a hospital, where the amputations were performed. NaphCare, the jail’s private medical contractor, said that its staffers “acted appropriately” for a “medically complex patient” like Muhammad. But Crump said that Muhammad was left with permanent disabilities that were entirely preventable. His aggravated assault charges were dropped or dismissed. As PLN reported, the jail has been operating under a consent decree reached in a federal civil rights suit filed by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) over allegedly unconstitutional conditions; Labatt issued a report in February 2026 touting progress made under the decree, but the ACLU’s own report the month before described “a crisis with a cascade of public health and safety problems.” [See: PLN, May 2026, p.15.]

Georgia: WXGA in Macon reported that local attorney Kevin Paul Bradley, 60, was arrested at the Bibb County Jail after guards intercepted a “soiled” envelope containing K2, a Schedule I controlled substance, on April 25, 2026. Following an investigation by the Office of County Sheriff David Davis, Bradley was arrested for crossing guard lines with contraband and possession with intent to distribute the synthetic cannabinoids. During a bond hearing on May 8, his defense attorney called Bradley a “pillar of the legal community” with no prior record. But the judge agreed with prosecutors that Bradley posed a danger to jail security and denied bond. Bradley was being held at the Lamar County Jail. 

Kansas: State Bureau of Investigation (KBI) agents arrested former Riley County Jail guard Ashley Britt, 24, on April 10, 2026, the Manhattan Mercury reported. She was released the same day on an $8,000 bond. Britt was charged with eight felony counts for allegedly exploiting her position to smuggle nicotine, headphones, medical syringes, and Wing Stop fast food to a detainee she later married. She was fired on October 3, 2025, after fellow guards found an unauthorized pack of Sudafed in the detainee’s cell and an oral syringe in the staff bathroom, leading to the discovery of more syringes in Britt’s bag. It was determined that Britt trafficked the contraband between September 20 and October 3. KBI investigators also found that Britt and the detainee exchanged “love notes” hidden in word-­search books and used jail messaging software to coordinate drop-­offs of the contraband. She was caught on jail surveillance video making a handoff in a jail housing pod. The detainee’s name was not released. But a marriage license was issued on December 8 for Britt and former detainee Caziah Randal Self, 24. He was sentenced to 51 months with the state DOC on November 24 after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and distribution of a controlled substance causing great bodily harm.

Kentucky: Former BOP guard Lt. Michael Childers, 47, was sentenced to 17 months in federal prison on April 8, 2026, for falsifying records to cover up staff assaults on prisoners held at the U.S. Penitentiary (USP) in Big Sandy, according to the USAO for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Childers admitted in December 2025 to fabricating a report falsely claiming that a victim struck him in order to justify the unlawful violence, as PLN reported; fellow guard Terry Melvin received a 48-­month sentence earlier in 2025 for his role in violating prisoners’ civil rights. [See: PLN, Jan. 2026, p.64.] Under federal law, they must serve 85% of their terms.

Kentucky: WKYT in Lexington said that the state DOC terminated two Kentucky State Penitentiary (KSP) guards on April 28, 2026, for violating use-­of-­force and restraint policies. An internal DOC probe confirmed an unnamed prisoner’s allegation that Lt. Raymond Marzilli rammed his head into a wall while he was handcuffed on February 25, 2026, causing severe facial injuries. Further misconduct by his supervisor, Capt. Adam Noles, involved filing retaliatory assault charges against the victim and subjecting him to a strip search when he complained. In addition to the firing of those two guards, Sgt. Lucas Stahl received a suspension for failing to report the violence.

Maryland: WMAR in Baltimore reported that two rogue guards and a teacher employed at the troubled Jessup Correctional Institution by the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS) were sentenced on May 5, 2026, for their involvement in smuggling schemes and illicit romantic entanglements with prisoners. Guard Sgt. Awungjia Rita Atabong, 39, received an 18-­month prison sentence for accepting thousands of dollars to smuggle drugs and cellphones to prisoners and tipping them off before contraband sweeps. Fellow guard Kathryn Hawes, 29, was sentenced to time served for smuggling items to an unnamed prisoner lover. Correctional educator Lakesha Murry, 49, received a 90-­day sentence after being caught kissing an incarcerated student and smuggling marijuana.

Massachusetts: Richard Kielczweski, 41, a veteran Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department jail guard, faced a mountain of felony charges after his arrest on April 24, 2026, for the systematic exploitation of an unnamed 15-­year-­old. According to WCVB in Boston, Kielczweski was accused of using the victim to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and trafficking him for sexual servitude across the jurisdictions of Hanson, Halifax and Middleborough. The former Suffolk County Jail guard had been with the department since 2015 and received accolades from the U.S. Marine Corps for his community work in the Toys for Tots holiday drive in 2024. He now sits behind bars on $250,000 bail, facing a litany of charges across all three Massachusetts jurisdictions, including aggravated child rape and witness intimidation.

Michigan: On April 23, 2026, former Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility guard Joshua Lee, 22, admitted to sexually abusing multiple prisoners at the state DOC lockup. WEMU in Ypsilanti reported that Lee was hit originally with four counts of sexual violence, before he secured a deal that dismissed three of the charges by pleading guilty to second-­degree criminal sexual conduct. State Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) noted that archaic state law still fails to distinguish sexual penetration from mere sexual conduct by prison staff, forcing prosecutors to rely on the latter charge in both cases. Lee remained free pending his sentencing in Washtenaw County’s 22nd Circuit Court, currently set for June 2026.

Mississippi: Sentencing on assault charges for former Simpson County Sheriff’s Dep. Adrian Durr, 44, was delayed for a second time on May 7, 2026, when his attorneys accused the victim’s family of making threats against him. Durr previously pleaded guilty to a federal count of deprivation of rights under color of law for the 2024 assault of a handcuffed and shackled arrestee; as the Clarion Ledger reported, he fired a Taser at the victim’s head and kicked him into unconsciousness during an altercation in the booking area of the county jail in Mendenhall. Durr offered an unsworn statement admitting he “broke the law” but blaming personal stress.

Missouri: Things went from bad to worse for Terrance L. Fuller, a 21-­year-­old guard at the Cedar County Jail, after his arrest on contraband charges on April 30, 2026. Ozarks First reported thatFuller was accused then of abusing his position by pilfering a vape from a property bag and delivering it to an unnamed detainee in the lockup, a Class A misdemeanor, sometime between April 13 and 17. He was also accused of supplying a cigarette and a lighter on April 21 to a detainee—though it was unclear if it was the same one. Because the lighter was considered a weapon, that was a Class B felony offense. His bond was set at $50,000, but he was already in custody for allegedly driving his vehicle into the jail basement and back out again on April 28; his license was revoked, so he has since picked up a two additional Class D misdemeanor charges for each moving violation. Added to that was yet another Class A misdemeanor charge for allegedly taking unauthorized photos of an unnamed detainee in the jail dressing area on April 1. Court documents indicate that victim was in a state of full or partial nudity in an area where there was a reasonable expectation of privacy.

New Jersey: According to RLS Media Solutions, former Atlantic County Justice Facility guard Christopher Piccioni, 35, was sentenced on April 27, 2026, to five years in state prison for operating as a high-­priced contraband mule. Between October 2023 and March 2024, Piccioni smuggled narcotics, cell phones and nicotine to prisoner Dion Robinson. The corrupt arrangement was financed by Robinson’s girlfriend, Qydreia Smith, who funneled thousands of dollars in bribes to Piccioni for each illicit delivery. The guard, who traded his badge for “easy money,” now trades his uniform for a prison jumpsuit, after pleading guilty to second-­degree official misconduct.

New Jersey: Also in Atlantic County, Ventnor Police Department Off. Ryan Bonanni, 25, was indicted on April 28, 2026, for allegedly using his personal cellphone to secretly record an arrestee while she was confined in a holding cell the previous July. According to Altice Media New Jersey, Bonanni allegedly distributed the footage via Snapchat to fellow guards and civilians. Now charged with official misconduct and invasion of privacy, Bonanni faces up to 10 years in state prison for using a holding cell as a staging ground for sexual exploitation.

New York: The volatile atmosphere at Marcy Correctional Facility, where guards fatally beat prisoner Robert Brooks in 2024, erupted in chaos on April 26, 2026, when prisoners set three separate fires in a single cell block. WHEC in Rochester reported that the coordinated arson included at least one mattress set ablaze, a tactic used to overwhelm ventilation systems. An unnamed guard sergeant sustained hip and back injuries during the emergency response. Smoke inhalation also sent eight guards to medical facilities for treatment, along with three National Guardsmen deployed to state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) lockups in the wake of a wildcat guard strike that followed the March 2025 indictment of 10 guards for Brooks’ death, as PLN reported. [See: PLN, Mar. 2025, p.61.]

New York: Former DOCCS guard Gregory S. Gorman, 30, pleaded not guilty on May 24, 2026, to a seven-­count contraband indictment. A narcotics sniffing K-­9 alerted to Gorman as he reported for duty at Cayuga Correctional Facility on March 27, according to Advance Local Media in Syracuse. Fellow guards then caught him red-­handed with an impressive haul of 28.2 grams of cocaine and 10.3 grams of heroin, meticulously packaged in 50 sleeves for distribution. A subsequent search of Gorman’s vehicle uncovered even more narcotics. He was arrested and fired from DOCCS, where he had worked since 2018.

Ohio: According to WOIO in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Jail guard Cheyanne McClutchen, 26, was arrested on April 22, 2026, for allegedly smuggling narcotics during a November 2025 visit to an unnamed prisoner at the Lorain Correctional Facility, a state prison operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (DRC). The indictment charged McClutchen with illegal conveyance of drugs and aggravated possession. Cuyahoga County placed her on administrative leave, and she was booked into the Lorain County Jail until her bond was set on April 30 at $10,000, which she posted and was released the same day.

Ohio: WOIO also reported that Portage County Jail guard Austin Wilson, 27, pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor telecommunication harassment on May 7, 2026. He was arrested in February and stripped of pay following an investigation into explicit photographs sent to a detainee held at the lockup in Ravenna. Due to safety concerns and to prevent contact with the victim, Wilson was transferred by Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski to the Trumbull County Jail while awaiting his plea hearing. His sentencing is now scheduled for June 16.

Oklahoma: The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office arrested Dep. Andrew Etcheverry on May 1, 2026, following a violent assault on a detainee at the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center. According to KOTV in Tulsa, the incident occurred while Etcheverry was assisting guards with a detainee on April 26, 2026, and the unnamed man bit his hand. Etcheverry retaliated by punching the handcuffed victim several times. Etcheverry was hired as a guard in 2023 and promoted to deputy in 2024. He was placed on leave while the incident was investigated. He was then fired and charged with assault.

Oregon: KOIN in Portland reported that former BOP guard Peter Nicholas Fles, Jr., 41, was sentenced to 12 years and five months in prison on April 14, 2026, for the sexual exploitation of a child. Fles pleaded no contest to two counts of first-­degree sex abuse involving a victim under the age of 14, and the court handed down the sentence along with nearly four years of supervised release. Fles, who worked at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Sheridan, is ineligible for early release. He must also register as a sex offender.

Pennsylvania: According to the York Daily Record, Robert Burkholder, 36, a former guard at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) in Camp Hill, was sentenced to one to seven years in prison on May 6, 2026, after pleading guilty to attempted statutory sexual assault. He was caught in an October 2025 police sting after sending explicit texts and arranging to meet someone he believed was 14. The ex-­guard was wearing a state DOC cap when he was arrested at the playground designated for the date with the “child”—who was actually an adult volunteer with the nonprofit 814PredHunters, which livestreamed Burkholder’s arrest on its Facebook page.

South Carolina: Two jail staffers with the Horry County Sheriff’s Office were arrested in April 2026 for violent off-­duty conduct, according to WMBF in Myrtle Beach. Taquan Reeves, 28, was charged with second-­degree domestic violence on April 13, 2026, after a harrowing highway incident in which he allegedly used his vehicle to “brake-­check” a car driven by his former live-­in girlfriend. He had given chase when she got home from the movies to find him staking out her parking spot and fled. Reeves was described as a jail guard, though it was unclear if he worked at the County’s J. Reuben Long Detention Center (JRLDC). Carla Brown, an employee at that lockup whose position was not disclosed, was charged with third-­degree domestic violence on April 14, 2026, after allegedly hurling racial sluts and a porcelain boot at her unnamed boyfriend. The incident unfolded in front of her minor child, who was home at the time; the child’s father collected him after her arrest. Both jail workers were booked into the JRLDC and released, Reeves on a $5,000 bond and Brown on a $1,500 bond.

Tennessee: On May 12, 2026, Shelby County Jail guard Johnesha Rucker, 28, was arrested for having sex with an unnamed detainee, WHBQ in Memphis reported. The Fugitive Apprehension Team of County Sheriff Floyd Bonner made the arrest following an investigation into the allegations. If they are proven, Rucker faces conviction on charges including official misconduct, sexual contact with prisoners, rape and forgery. The disgraced guard resigned and is currently being held at the County’s Jail East on a $100,000 bond.

Texas: Former Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) guard James Byron Thibodeaux, 66, was arrested on smuggling charges on March 12, 2026. According to an affidavit obtained by KLTV in Tyler, staff at the Bradshaw Unit discovered contraband tobacco stashed inside a bathroom trash can in the prison shortly after Thibodeaux was seen exiting the area. Under questioning by the Office of Inspector General, Thibodeaux admitted to smuggling the tobacco inside burritos, for later retrieval by a prisoner who promised in return to pay a bribe by Cash App. Charged with a third-­degree felony for bringing prohibited substances into a prison, the guard faces up to 20 years in prison. Thibodeaux has freed on a $15,000 bond after his arrest.

Texas: KJAS in Jasper reported that charges of official oppression landed 61-­year-­old TDCJ guard Samuel Horn behind bars on April 30, 2026. He was accused of physically assaulting a parolee in the parking lot of the Goodman Unit in Jasper County. Compounding the brutality, Horn allegedly blocked the victim from receiving necessary medical attention. He was fired by TDCJ and by Jasper County Sheriff Chuck Havard, in whose jail Horn also worked part-­time.

Washington: On May 8, 2026, a state court judge ruled against Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond in an ongoing battle with County Commissioners over control of the county jail. According to the Yakima Daily Herald, the dispute erupted after Commissioners voted to create a new Department of Corrections to oversee the jail, stripping it from the sheriff’s oversight. Raymond retaliated by seizing fingerprint machines, vehicles and jail firearms, arguing that unaccredited jailers lacked the proper legal credentials to use them without his supervision. The court agreed with Commissioners that the County owns the property and ordered Raymond to return it. When he refused, Superior court judge Brandon Johnson threatened Raymond with a $1,000-­per-­day fine on May 21, 2026. The embattled sheriff is retiring at year end.

Washington: Former Spokane County Jail guard Drew S. Seiffert, 35, was sentenced on May 15, 2026, after pleading guilty to one count of second-­degree misconduct. Between October and December 2022, the guard had sexual relations with an unnamed detainee whom he supervised. Another detainee witnessed the sexual activity between the two and informed a second guard, leading to Seiffert’s December 2022 arrest. He was placed on leave while an investigation was conducted and later fired. At his sentencing, a statement was read from the victim who called the sexual activity consensual and said that she didn’t wish to see Seiffert suffer more than he had with the damage to his reputation and family relationships. The prosecution argued that the risk to which he exposed other detainees and the damage to the public trust both necessitated a longer sentence. After he apologized in court, Seiffert was sentenced to just six months in jail.

Wisconsin: State DOC prisoner Jonathan Taylor, 31, walked away from the Kenosha Correctional Center on May 5, 2026, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. Taylor’s escape from the minimum-­security lockup, which has no secure fencing, triggered a multi-­agency manhunt. He had been held at the prison only since February, following transfer from a higher-­security lockup where he was serving time for burglary and battery. His brief stint on the lam ended on May 13, when U.S. Marshals apprehended him without incident in Racine.  

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