DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A corrections officer was arrested Wednesday night for trying to smuggle drugs into the Tamoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).
FDLE undercover agents arrested 22-year-old Shantell Adkins. They said he was offered $200 to take marijuana into a state prison.
It was a tip from the inside to the state Inspector General's Office that started the investigation three weeks ago.
"Anytime you have a public official, someone who holds the position of an officer and serving the community and you got an accusation that they're committing crimes, that's important," said Danny Banks, FDLE.
State corrections brought in the FDLE and the Volusia Bureau of Investigation.
After three weeks on the case, they said Wednesday night Adkins agreed to do what they were told he might.
As a housing officer, he had access to prisoners, and agents working undercover said they gave him $200 and an ounce of marijuana to take behind the fences at Tomoka Correctional Facilities.
"We really can't put a finger on how long or how many other times in fact this officer may have done that. What we do know is that we've put a stop to it now," Banks said.
Adkins has been an officer for three years.
WFTV went to his family's Daytona home Thursday.
"Did he do what he's been accused of?" WFTV reporter Jason Allen asked Adkins's father.
But his father couldn't explain the charges or tell WFTV if his son was there, after posting a $13,000 bond to get out of jail.
Adkins faces charges of money laundering, sale and delivery of drugs, and illegal use of a phone, which are felony charges. Adkins is looking at spending five years in prison.