ATLANTA
A prison guard was sentenced two years and four months in prison for smuggling cigarettes, marijuana and other contraband into an Atlanta penitentiary, according to authorities.
Dirk Antonious Engram, Jr. admitted that he charged $500 every time he smuggled cigarettes, marijuana, or other contraband into the prison for inmates.
“Corrupt corrections officers compromise prison safety while they profit from the underground economy that unfortunately exists in prison,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Prison is supposed to be a place where the controls are strong enough that additional crime is impossible, but this breaks down instantly when the officers themselves participate in the corruption.”
According to Horn and other evidence, in November 2013, Engram began working as a corrections officer at U.S. Penitentiary-Atlanta, a medium-security prison with approximately 2,000 male inmates.
In 2014, officials said Engram began smuggling contraband into the prison for inmates who befriended him. Engram charged $500 each time that he smuggled cigarettes, marijuana, or other contraband into the prison.
FBI agents arrested Engram on Sept.11 after he accepted a bribe to smuggle what he believed was heroin into the penitentiary.
Engram pleaded guilty to the charges on March 24, 2015.