2 GUARDS AT PARCHMAN CHARGED WITH EXTORTION, DRUG SMUGGLING

Two officers at the State Penitentiary in Parchman face accusations they
skimmed money from an inmate's bank account and brought marijuana into the
prison, Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a statement released
Monday.

Jonathan A. Cox, 22, of Ruleville and Terry B. Thomas, 30, of Greenwood are
both charged with extortion and conspiracy to introduce contraband on state
prison grounds.

Cox allegedly received $2,000 from an inmate's bank account and was
supposed to take a portion of the money back into the prison, but kept it
instead, according to the statement

Thomas allegedly received $600 from the inmate's account and conspired with
the inmate to smuggle marijuana into the prison; he also kept the money,
according to the statement.

Internal Audit Division officers arrested Cox June 6 and Thomas on June 9.
More arrests may be made as the investigation proceeds, according to the
statement.

Cox and Thomas are both trainee correctional officers. MDOC has employed
Cox since last July and Thomas since November, according to the statement.

An officer is designated a trainee for one year after the hire date. A
corrections officer and trainee have no differences in privileges, MDOC
spokeswoman Claire Papizan said.

The arrests speak well for MDOC's Internal Audit Division, prisoners'
rights attorney Ron Welch said.

"In an organization as large at the Department of Corrections, they're just
going to get some bad folks in," Welch said. "They caught them at the
beginning. It's better to find them sooner than later."

Cox and Thomas were released on $10,000 bond each. Extortion carries a
maximum sentence of five years and a $5,000 fine. Conspiracy to introduce
contraband has a maximum sentence of 15 years and a $25,000 fine.