Two Miami-Dade Corrections officers are facing charges after they were caught smuggling contraband items into the Dade Correctional Institution, authorities said Friday.
Former Dade Correctional Institution Sergeant Travis Thompson and Dade Correctional Institution Officer Gary Leon Littlejohn are accused of bringing contraband cigarettes into the state prison complex and supplying them to an inmate in exchange for cash, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a news release.
Thompson, 26, is also accused of bringing cell phone SIM cards into the prison, and Littlejohn, 35, was allegedly paid to take in a cell phone.
Fernandez Rundle said Thompson allegedly received $2,000 for his actions while Littlejohn allegedly received a $1,200 payment from an informant for his actions.
Thompson is being charged with one count of unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior, a second-degree felony, and one count of introduction into, removal or possession of, contraband in a state correctional institution, a third-degree felony.
Littlejohn is facing one count of unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior.
“Receiving contraband while in prison allows some inmates to accumulate wealth, power, and prestige among the inmate population,” Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. “This can lead to violence among the inmates and place correctional staff in danger. I commend the Miami-Dade Police Department, the investigators and prosecutors of our Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, and the Florida Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General for aggressively pursuing this investigation.”