They were allegedly flying to help prisoners get high and to maybe escape, but now nine people, all but one from Macon, are behind bars themselves after federal agents arrested them in connection with delivering drugs, phones and weapons into prisons from above.
The bust, announced Wednesday, involved a “vast alleged conspiracy using drones to smuggle contraband,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The nine suspects and three inmates are accused of coordinating deliveries of methamphetamine, marijuana and other controlled substances, as well as cell phones, tobacco and objects such as saw blades to be used as weapons for escape.
The eight of the accused who are from Macon are Leviticus Blash, 42; Chrystal Dunn, 37; Ira Christopher Jackson, 42; Xavier Maxwell, 30; Kenna Middleton, 45; Glenn Middleton, 70; Jeff Richardson, 23, and Tysean Richardson, 23.
The accusations were in an indictment unsealed Wednesday that described drone deliveries to 10 prisons in eight states, including two in Georgia, in Atlanta and in Jessup.
The joint announcement by the federal government included U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes for the Middle District of Georgia and William K. Marshall III, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Drones have been an ongoing problem for Georgia prisons.
During a legislative hearing at the Atlanta Capitol in December, Matthew Wolfe from the Georgia Department of Corrections said that for the year through June 2025 there were 120 inmates charged and 362 civilians arrested in connection with contraband deliveries.
The schemes sometimes involved simple methods, such as wrapping contraband with duct tape into the shape of a football and tossing it over a prison fence. But they often involved drones, said Wolfe, who displayed a photo of a confiscated unmanned aircraft that could carry hundreds of pounds.
“Civilian involvement remains the most common threat vector, with throwovers and drone drops continuing to be the primary method used to infiltrate our institutions,” Wolfe said.
Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver said technology existed to stop such drones.
“We just don’t have the authority, the legal authority, to be able to do it,” Oliver told lawmakers.
The General Assembly responded by passing House Bill 1230, which takes effect Wednesday.
The new law will make it illegal to fly a drone over a prison. It will also authorize law enforcement agencies and officers who suspect drone use for criminal intent to detect, track and identify the aircraft and then intercept and disable them with jamming, hacking or other methods.
That law is for state and local authorities.
The indictment unsealed Wednesday involved a takedown by the federal government using sophisticated tracking technology.
The federal Bureau of Prisons used a drone detection system that provided alerts when drones were nearby and that reported an aircraft’s make, model and identification number, along with the launch location, flight path and altitude.
