Four charged with extortion for smuggling contraband into jail

ATLANTA – A Fulton County sheriff’s deputy and three jailers in the Fulton County Jail have been indicted for their role in a smuggling operation that included sneaking drugs and cell phones into the jail, federal authorities said.

Deputy Marvie Trevino Dingle Jr., 34, of Lithonia, and Detention Officers Brian Shelby Anthony, 30, of Atlanta; Akil Scott, 31, of Atlanta; and Derick Deshun Frazier, 31, of Morrow, each face a charge of extortion for their roles in accepting payments to deliver contraband to inmates inside the Fulton County Jail, according to federal prosecutors.

“As law enforcement officers employed at the Fulton County Jail, these men took an oath to serve and protect the public,” United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement. “Instead, they abandoned their oaths and sold their badges by taking payoffs to smuggling contraband to jail inmates and facilitate illegal drug deals on the outside. We are committed to vigorously prosecuting corrupt law enforcement officers who betray the public and their fellow law enforcement officers.”

Anthony, Dingle and three others – Aqeel Mushin Rasheed, 27, of Atlanta; Keithan Henry James, 33, of Decatur; and Robert Lee Swain Jr., 29, of Snellville – were indicted on charges of attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine outside the jail. An eighth man – Rayfield Lewis II, 32, of Union City, was charged with attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine outside the jail.

“There is zero tolerance for the smuggling of contraband, to include mobile telephones,” Fulton County Sheriff Ted Jackson said in a news release. “Internal procedures have been established to address this issue as well as improving security for our employees and visitors as well as the inmates at the jail. This investigation will continue until those corrupt employees are rooted out.”