Georgia man pleads guilty to operating unregistered drone in Macon State Prison contraband drop
A Lakeland man admitted guilt in a federal court on Thursday to using an unregistered drone to drop contraband into Macon State Prison in Macon County.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Lakeland man admitted guilt in a federal court on Thursday to using an unregistered drone to drop contraband into Macon State Prison in Macon County.
A U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia news release says 32-year-old Dedrick Daesean Sirmans pleaded guilty to one count of operating an aircraft eligible for registration without registering it to facilitate a controlled substance offense.
Sirmans faces a maximum of five years in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release and a maximum $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for March 7.
“Contraband in prisons is a danger to everyone inside the prison, where there is a high potential for violence and drug abuse, as well as inmates using cell phones to direct outside criminal activities,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that in the early morning hours of September 14, 2020, Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) K9 handlers were conducting a patrol of the grounds around the prison when they saw Sirmans emerge from the woods.
Sirmans claimed he was there to meet someone from a dating app, but a search by GDC officers revealed two plastic bags with contraband, a large drone and cash.
Investigators later traced 25 drone flights—several over Macon State Prison and at least one over Patten Probation Detention Center in Lakeland—and linked them to Sirmans.
