March 26th, 2021 – 4:05 PM
U.S. Attorney’s Office Northern District of Georgia –
ROME, Ga. – Jeffery Deroy Lewis, an inmate at Valdosta State Prison, along with Octavius Henry, Alexis Jay Stokley, and Khalid Eugene Mouton, inmates at Hays State Prison, and an accomplice, Jessica Corley Stokley, have been indicted and arraigned on federal drug trafficking and bribery charges stemming from a scheme to smuggle narcotics into Hay State Prison by bribing corrections officer Voltaire Peter Pierre.
“These inmates allegedly smuggled drugs and other contraband into the prison, putting guards and fellow inmates in danger,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine. “By using hidden cell phones to coordinate with conspirators, they sent and received payments via payment apps and prepaid cards, and allegedly bribed at least one prison official to allow illegal drugs to enter the prison community.”
“Prisons should be a place of rehabilitation, not a place to continue committing crimes,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “Illegal cell phones have emboldened inmates and their associates to engage in criminal conduct, sometimes with the help of law enforcement officials. It threatens both inmates and staff and the FBI will pursue these investigations no matter who is involved.”
“These defendants being charged demonstrate the collaborative efforts of state and federal partners to dismantle this conspiracy. The officer violated his oath and the public’s trust by contributing to this criminal activity within the prison system,” said Vic Reynolds, Director, Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Erskine, the charges, and other information presented in court: From approximately June 2018 through October 2018, the defendants allegedly conspired to smuggle drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine), and marijuana, along with other contraband into Hays State Prison.
The inmates allegedly communicated via contraband cell phones and through coded email messages sent via the prison email system with conspirators outside the prison to arrange for drugs and other contraband to be dropped at the home of Pierre, a Hays State Prison corrections officer who later smuggled the packages into prison for distribution to inmates. The inmates then transmitted drug payments and bribe payments to Pierre through a combination of prepaid debit cards and a payment app.
Voltaire Peter Pierre pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and marijuana on October 17, 2019.
Jeffery Deroy Lewis, a/k/a “2500,” 30, of Atlanta, Georgia, Octavius Henry, a/k/a “Forever,” a/k/a Robert Barrow, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, Alexis Jay Stokley, 41, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Jessica Corley Stokley, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia, were arraigned on March 9, 2021, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to commit bribery after being indicted by a federal grand jury on February 16, 2021. Khalid Eugene Mouton, a/k/a Michael Howard, 42, of Atlanta, Georgia, is pending arraignment.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendants are presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan M. Christian and Calvin A. Leipold, III are prosecuting the case.