A drone carrying contraband intended to be dropped at the local federal prison complex took a wrong turn over the weekend and headed towards the local county jail. Its wrong turn landed the operator behind those same bars after a deputy noticed the drone overhead the complex.
Kevin Upchurch, 24, was charged with smuggling contraband into a correctional facility and trafficking.
Terry Gann, chief deputy with the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department, said Upchurch was arrested last Sunday after a deputy noticed his drone flying over the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility.
“We believe he intended to drop the contraband at the federal prison, but he got confused and went to our county jail,” Gann said. “There was a package of contraband hooked to the drone, and he was about to drop the package inside the fence line. But there was a deputy who noticed it before the drop could be made.”
Gann said the contraband included several bags of marijuana, tobacco products and other items.
Gann said it is actually quite common for drones to be used to smuggle contraband into correctional facilities.
“They attempt to use drones by covering the lights with tape,” Gann said. “But the noise from these drones can’t be hidden."
