ATLANTA — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a former Fulton
County detention officer to federal prison
Derick Deshun Frazier, 32, of Stockbridge, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24
to accepting a bribe to smuggle cell phones and cigarettes to inmates
inside the Fulton County Jail. U.S. District Judge Orinda D. Evans
sentenced Frazier to six months in federal prison, which is to be
followed by three months of home confinement, then two years of
supervised release.
“Cell phones in the hands of inmates pose a very grave risk to
security of the jail, and can provide an avenue for inmates to commit
more crimes, both inside and outside the jail,” U.S. Attorney Sally
Quillian Yates said in a news release. “This detention officer
endangered honest law enforcement officers who worked in the jail,
other inmates, and even the citizens of our community, when he chose
to take a bribe instead of conducting himself as a law enforcement
officer.”
Frazier is one of three former Fulton County law enforcement officers
who previously worked at the county jail who have been convicted in
federal court in recent months.
On Oct. 24, Akil Scott, 31, of Lithonia, pleaded guilty to two counts
of attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine and two
counts of “extortion under color of official right for accepting $650
to smuggle drugs into the jail,” according to the FBI.
On Nov. 8, former Deputy Sheriff Marvie Trevino Dingle Jr., 34, of
Lithonia, pleaded guilty to two counts of “attempted possession with
the intent to distribute cocaine inside and outside the county jail
and two counts of extortion under color of official right for
accepting more than $2,000 to smuggle drugs into the jail and to
protect a drug transaction outside of the jail,” according to federal
investigators.
“The shame and dishonor that Mr. Derick Deshun Frazier brought upon
himself should in no way reflect upon the majority of hard working
members of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office who perform their duties
with integrity,” Fulton County Sheriff Theodore “Ted” Jackson said in
a news release. “The Sheriff's Office will continue to aggressively
investigate and assist with investigations concerning allegations of
criminal behavior by any employee on all levels within the agency who
is suspected of wrongdoing.
“The FBI has exhibited a high level of professionalism in the thorough
investigations of these matters,” Jackson added. “There is zero
tolerance for the smuggling of contraband at the Fulton County Jail.
Internal procedures have been established to address this issue as
well as improving security for our employees, inmates, and visitors at
the Fulton County Jail.”