WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – Following the March 20 arrest of Dustin Garland for flying a drone with contraband over the Washington County Detention Center, four more people have been arrested.
According to a release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO), investigators learned that Garland had been communicating via “Chirp” or text messages with four men housed in the jail. The WCSO reports Garland had been speaking with Randall Garner and Dadrian Franklin to figure out a time, place and payload for the drone.
The release states that a previous attempt to deliver contraband had failed on March 11. The suspects had reportedly planned to try a drone drop on March 15 but pushed it back to March 20, the day of Garland’s arrest, due to deputies being nearby.
When the drone did fly over the jail, the WCSO reports Michael Miller was spotted and heard guiding the drone to their location over the phone. Another man, Rocky Woodard, was supposed to grab the contraband once it was low enough.
Detention officers were able to prevent the drop and took the package as evidence. In addition to Garland, the other four men have all been charged with conspiracy to commit contraband in a penal institution.
Garner, Franklin, Millier and Woodard each have a bond of $5,000 and are set to appear in court Thursday.
