Dade Correctional officers, including sergeant, face felony contraband charges

A former prison sergeant and an officer at Dade Correctional Institution are facing criminal charges following accusations of smuggling contraband into the facility, which netted them more than $3,000 in payments.

On Friday, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office announced the charges against former Sgt. Travis Thompson and officer Gary Leon Littlejohn. Both are accused of bringing in and supplying contraband cigarettes to an inmate in exchange for cash, according to the release. Thompson is also accused of bringing cellphone SIM cards while Littlejohn was paid to bring in a cellphone.

Thompson is believed to have received $2,000 and Littlejohn is believed to have been paid $1,200 from an informant, according to the release.

Thompson was previously charged with a felony back in December for bringing cocaine into Dade Correctional and neighboring Homestead Correctional Institution, a facility for women.

“Receiving contraband while in prison allows some inmates to accumulate wealth, power, and prestige among the inmate population,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle in Friday’s release. “This can lead to violence among the inmates and place correctional staff in danger.”

Thompson is facing a count of unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior, which is a second-degree felony, and another count of introduction into, removal or possession of contraband in a state correctional facility, which is a third-degree felony, according to the release.

The charges are a result of a joint investigation by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, the Miami-Dade Police Department and the Florida Department of Corrections.

The introduction of contraband has increased, according to the Department of Corrections’ 2020-2021 strategic plan. There is also an upward trend in violence and an increase of membership in Security Threat Groups, or gangs, at FDC correctional institutions throughout recent years, the plan says.

According to the department’s 2018-2019 annual report, about 7,500 cellphones and nearly 5,000 cellphone accessories, such as a SIM card, charger or battery pack, were recovered. Also recovered during that time were more than 560,000 grams of tobacco as well as tens of thousands of grams of various drugs.

As of January, the FDC housed about 80,000 inmates, which decreased from 94,000 the previous year, due at least in part to a period of time where COVID-19 led to fewer arrests, prosecutions and new inmates arriving from county jails.

This story was originally published June 4, 2021 at 1:16 PM.