September 18, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
A female prisoner charged with smuggling narcotics into the DeKalb County Jail last year appeared for sentencing in DeKalb County Criminal Court last Monday, September 10.
Judge Gary McKenzie presided.
40 year old Amy Lawson entered a plea to introduction of contraband and received a three year probated sentence. The term is to run concurrently with a 10 year White County sentence against her for violation of probation. She has been given jail credit of 218 days including one day in Coffee County, 146 days in Warren County, and 71 days in DeKalb County.
Lawson was one of four female prisoners charged in the case on February 17, 2017
Sheriff Patrick Ray said at the time that his department received a tip that one of the prisoners had drugs concealed in her when she entered the jail but he never disclosed which one.
Acting on that information, Sheriff Ray said he ordered a surprise shakedown of the women’s main cell and the side cell where all the female inmates are kept. Their bunks and personal belongings were searched. Some drugs were found there. All the female prisoners were then removed from the main and side cells for women one at a time and taken to a bathroom where they were individually strip searched by a female correctional officer before being taken to a holding cell.
Apparently fearing they would be subject to a warrant for a body cavity search, three of the female inmates swallowed the drugs they had hidden in their bodies. All three were taken to the hospital after one of them began showing signs of intoxication.
A glass looking substance believed to be meth was found in Lawson’s personal belongings along with a blue pill thought to be morphine and other unidentified pills.